270 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



to var. hibcrnica, Haworth. The caterpillar is purplish brown, 

 with the usual raised dots darker brown ; three pale lines along 

 the back, the central one least distinct ; head and plates on 

 first and last rings reddish brown ; spiracles black. From April 

 to July on cotton grass (yEriophorujn -vaginatiini)^ feeding in 

 the stems down towards the root. The moth flies in August 

 and September. It was first noted as British in 1819, and 

 Stephens in 1829 mentions it as common in Whittlesea Mere. 

 Although still occurring in the fens, the species is far more 

 common on the moors and mosses of Northern England, 

 Scotland to the Shetlands, and in Ireland. 



The Crescent Striped {Hama oblonga {ahjecfd)). 



In its most frequent form this species (Plate 131, Figs. 5, 6) 

 has the fore wings greyish brown and somewhat shining ; 

 the markings, especially the cross lines, indistinctly paler ; the 

 reniform is outwardly dotted with white. Sometimes the ground 

 colour is paler grey with black markings arranged very similar 

 to such marks in A. gemina, var. remissa (Fig. 8). 



The caterpillar is greenish grey, with the raised dots rather 

 greyer ; a pinkish line along the back ; head and plate on first 

 and last rings shining reddish brown. It feeds on grasses 

 growing in salt marshes, edges of tidal rivers, and ditches of 

 brackish water : in the spring and until June ; perhaps from 

 September. The moth is out from June to August, and may be 

 obtained at the flowers of marram grass as well as at sugar. 

 The species is found in most of the eastern and southern 

 seaboard counties of England ; at Sandown and Freshwater in 

 the Isle of Wight ; in the fens of Huntingdon and Cambridge ; 

 also occasionally in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Lanes, 

 Yorks, and Durham. In Scotland it has been obtained in 

 Moray and in the Shetlands. Local in Ireland. The range 

 abroad extends to Amurland. 



