lOO THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



is composed of silk and caterpillar hairs, and is spun up on 

 the food-plant, often singly, but not infrequently, several are 

 made up in a common silken covering. 



The caterpillar is blackish with brownish warts, each bearing 

 a tuft of brownish hairs ; a row of tufts of white downy scales 

 on each side of the back of rings four to eleven ; the central 

 line on the back is black, edged on each side by a red line of 

 variable width from rings six to ten ; a vermillion round spot 

 on nine and ten. Head blackish. 



The moth is shown on Plates 43, 45, and the caterpillar on 

 Plate 42, Fig. i. 



Distribution, Central and South Europe to North-west Africa 

 and Asia Minor. 



In 1897 an appeal was made to British entomologists to 

 refrain from taking many specimens of this species ; while 

 American entomologists were seeking power to compel local 

 authorities to suppress the Brown-tail, which about that time 

 was a new, and no doubt introduced, insect pest in the State 

 of Massachusetts. 



The Yellow-tail {Porthesia siviilis). 



The male has usually only one black mark on the fore wings, 

 but sometimes there are two, as seen in Fig. 5, Plate 43 ; more 

 rarely there is a dot or two towards the tips of the wings. 

 The habit of the moth is to sit upon the foliage of bushes 

 and the branches of trees, where it might easily be passed over 

 for a fluffy white feather ; occasionally it may be found on 

 palings or even iron railings. About dark it is on the wing, 

 and light has then a great attraction for it. The caterpillar 

 is black with black and grey hairs ; a vermillion stripe down 

 the middle of the back has a black central line, and is ex- 

 panded on rings four, eleven, and twelve ; along each side there 

 are tufts of snowy white fluffy scales ; the back of rings four, 



