48 LEPIDOPTERA. 



with short soft hairs which are most abundant above the 

 legs; head round, light bluish-grey; body bright red- 

 brown, barred on the segmental divisions with blue-grey, 

 each bar divided, lengthwise and across, by black lines, and 

 having on its front portion a large black central blotch. 

 Front of the second segment inflated into yellowish folds ; 

 spiracular region dotted with black ; legs and ventral pro- 

 legs blue-black ; anal prolegsdark brown. Or rust-red, with 

 two large white spots on each segment ; the dorsal line 

 black and expanded on each segment ; or even with the 

 white spots almost united into subdorsal stripes, shaded with 

 bluish grey. 



June to August on Vaccinium myrtillus; abroad, found 

 feeding also on various species of willow and sallow. 



Pupa thickest across the wing shoulders, with the head 

 portion narrower ; rounded, blunt, and rounded off behind ; 

 bluish-black shaded with brownish. In a rather large 

 yellowish-white cocoon among the stems of its food-plant. 

 In this state through the winter. 



Very little is known of this insect here. The moth flies 

 only at night, and sits on its food-plant, or on heather, by day, 

 bearing a most accurate resemblance to a withered leaf. So 

 close is this mimicry that the flrst recorded specimen was 

 only found through the discoverer happening to kneel down 

 close by it to pin a small Tortrix. This occurred in 1852, on 

 the extensive moors of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire. About 

 the same time larvae are said to have been found on moors 

 near SheflSeld and Ripon, Yorkshire. Further captures of 

 larvae and even of pupse in these two localities are on record 

 in 1855-56-59-60 and 61 and a rather unusual number in 

 1857 at Cannock Chase, where also single larvae were found so 

 recently as 1879 and 1882. Respecting this species Dr. R. 

 Freer, of Rugeley, writes me : "I hear that at one time the 

 larvae abounded on the bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus), and 

 were very easy to find. Pupae, spun up in the bilberry and 



