TRIFID^. 350 



post or fence, a,ud its resemblance to a chip of wood, newly 

 cut off, is then seen to be most remarkable. Usually, how- 

 ever, it conceals itself among grass or herbage close to the 

 ground ; but flies at dusk and is then conspicuous from its 

 pale colour. It comes freely to sugar, honey-dew and other 

 sweets, but not very often to light. Common throughout 

 England and in some districts abundant ; also doubtless 

 throughout Wales, since it is plentiful in Pembrokeshire. In 

 Scotland it seems more attached to the eastern side of the 

 country, and is found so far north as Moray ; but the wet 

 and mountainous western districts do not appear to suit it, 

 and no record seems to exist of its appearance north of the 

 Clyde Valley. In Ireland it is fairly common and generally 

 distributed. Its range abroad is through Central Europe, 

 Northern Italy, Dalmatia, Asia Minor, and the mountain 

 regions of Central Asia. 



2. X. sublustris, ^67;.— Expanse 1^ to 1| inch. Fore 

 wings smooth, the nervures not thickened; light yellowish 

 fulvous, with two chocolate clouds in the middle, and two 

 similar blotches on the hind mai'gin ; hind wings dusky- 

 white tinged behind with fulvous. 



Antennas of the male simple, ciliated, light brown, the 

 ciliations red- brown ; palpi rather small but broadly tufted, 

 pale chocolate, apical joint pointed, white; head dull pale 

 chocolate-brown ; a tuft of similar scales at the base of each 

 antenna ; collar upraised, pale reddish-brown, slenderly 

 barred in the middle with black-brown ; remainder of the 

 thorax loosely scaled, paler reddish-brown, crests loose and 

 obscure but tipped with deeper red ; fascicles reddish-white ; 

 abdomen dull pale reddish-ochreous ; dorsal crests small and 

 obscure, light chocolate, much hidden by abundant long hair- 

 scales on the basal segments ; lateral tufts small, anal tuft 

 large, pale chocolate. Fore wings rather narrow and pointed, 

 smooth from the nervures not being swollen ; costa rounded ; 

 apex very bluntly angulated, almost rounded ; hiud margin 



