THE FLAME. 229 



and Wales. The fore wings are usually purplish brown, but 

 sometimes they are palish red brown ; the creamy stripe on the 

 front margin is more or less sprinkled with scales of the ground 

 colour, occasionally so thickly that these marks appear reddish 

 in tint ; there is often a pale, wavy submarginal line, and in 

 some specimens a dusky second line can be detected ; not 

 infrequently there are traces of the claviform mark, but I do 

 not remember ever seeing any indication of a first line. The 

 hind wings are white, and frequently the fringes are pale pinky 

 brown. 



The caterpillar is brownish, varying from ochreous to reddish, 

 freckled with darker; the broken lines on the back are pale, 

 with dark edges, and there is a brown freckled, pale ochreous 

 stripe along the sides ; the usual spots are black, and the 

 spiracles whitish, edged with brownish ; head brown marked 

 with darker. It feeds on various low plants, and also on lettuce, 

 beet, etc., in gardens ; there are certainly two broods in most 

 years, one in the summer and the other in the autumn. The 

 moth is out in May and June, and again in August and 

 September. Specimens have also been taken in July, and 

 occasionally in April. The species has a very extensive range 

 abroad, extending to India, Corea, Japan, and North America. 



The Flame {Axylia putris). 



This species, which is depicted on Plate 132, Fig. 13, is 

 pretty constant in its pale coloration and darker markings. 

 It is often common, and is widely spread throughout England, 

 Wales, Ireland, and in Scotland up to Ross. 



The caterpillar is greyish brown, mottled and dusted with 

 blackish, chiefly so on the sides ; the central line is darker but 

 indistinct, and there is a yellow spot on each ring ; a whitish 

 line on each side of the central one is edged above with curved 

 black dashes, and these are most distinct on rings four to ten ; 



