ARCTIID^. 291 



Almost confined to fens, marshes, ditch sides, and wet 

 meadows. Sluggish and rather secret in habits, and seldom 

 seen in the daytime ; it flies at dusk and through the earlier 

 part of the night and comes rather early to a strong light. 

 Formerly it is said to have been found in marshy places near 

 London, especially about the Croydon Canal, the Isle of Dogs, 

 Plaistow and Hackney Marshes, and it was found at Lea 

 Bridge in 1859. It may still be met with in wet places at 

 Sheerness and elsewhere in East Kent ; near Lewes and 

 Brighton, Sussex ; and at Kimmeridge, Dorset ; but its home 

 certainly is in the fen districts. At Burwell Fen it used to 

 be pretty common until the fen was destroyed ; at Wicken, 

 and elsewhere near Cambridge, it still occurs though not in 

 abundance. Very widely distributed all over the fens of 

 Norfolk and the borders of Suffolk, and in some places 

 tolerably common. In Leicestershire it has been found near 

 Burton-on-Trent ; and in South Wales — on a wet moor, with 

 numerous ditches, in South Pembrokeshire — larvte were found 

 in plenty in the year 1854 by Mr. W. H. Blandford. They 

 were, however, very unhealthy, many were to be seen dead on 

 the plants, and of those secured the majority died, so that 

 but few moths were reared. Possibly this western locality is 

 the extreme verge of its range in that direction. In Scotland 

 it is rare, but Dr. White testifies to having seen a specimen 

 from West Boss. It is also recorded from the Solway and 

 Clyde districts, one specimen even by the river Kelvin, near 

 Glasgow. I know of no instance in Ireland. Abroad it 

 is found throughout central and the temperate poi'tions 

 of Northern Europe, including Western France, North Italy, 

 and Bulgaria, also in Southern Russia, Tartary, China and 

 Japan, though specimens from the latter countries pass 

 under the name of Sangaicct (Walker). 



