TRIFID^. 255 



clouded along the costal margin with grey-brown, and often 

 with the nervures grey-brown ; a central streak is faintly 

 visible, grey-brown ; cilia whitish, sometimes faintly spotted 

 with grey. Female very similar, but the fore wings are 

 usually more of a slate-grey, and the hind wings uniformly 

 darker and varying to dark grey-brown. 



Underside of fore wings dull grey-brown, margins rather 

 paler ; cilia dashed with blackish. Hind wings grey-brown 

 or whitish, paler from the middle to the costal margin ; 

 central spot distinctly lunate, black ; cilia whitish, clouded 

 and dashed with dusky grey. Body much tufted, smoky 

 white ; anal segment dark brown and black ; legs grey. In 

 some specimens the fore wings beneath are silvery white with 

 a leaden central shade, which also runs along the dorsal margin 

 toward the base ; in others the costa is spotted with black or 

 has two large cloudy black blotches, with black central and 

 dorsal clouds. The hind wings are sometimes pure white — 

 the whole underside is, indeed, rather variable in this species. 



Usually rather constant in colouring on the upper side, 

 but in some specimens considerable blackening is shown at 

 the outer edges of the first and second transverse lines. 

 Such specimens are occasionally obtained in the Lancashire 

 mosses. Blacker examples still are found, though rarely, in 

 Yorkshire ; Mr. S. J. Capper has two such, of a very dark 

 grey with still blacker markings, and Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher 

 one of a smoky-black. 



On the wing in June and July. 



Larva stout, hairy, slightly attenuated at each extremity ; 

 head shining black ; ground colour black, velvety ; spiracles 

 white, and beneath each, two red blotches ; the usual raised 

 spots emit bunches of reddish-brown, or black, hairs ; one 

 of these bunches lies between the pairs of red blotches on 

 each segment ; legs shining black, (Ohas. Fenn.) 



Dr. Chapman says that when just hatched the raised spots 

 are pale, but soon become black, and the larva is then almost 



