76 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Shipton. This character, also supposed to be like the letter M, 

 hence the specific name mi, stands out very distinctly in the 

 paler specimens, but in some of the darker individuals it is 

 somewhat obscured. On the hind wings the spots are whitish 

 or yellowish, and those composing the central series are some- 

 times united, and form a band. (Plate 26, Figs. 6 $ , 7 $ .) 



The ^gg is greenish, and the caterpillar is pale ochreous- 

 brown, with darker brown lines along the back and sides : 

 head, ochreous, with brown lines. It feeds on clover and 

 grasses, in July, August, and September, and the chrysalis, 

 which is covered with a whitish powder, is enclosed in a 

 brownish cocoon spun up in a blade of grass. All the early 

 stages are figured on Plate 30. The enlarged chrysalis, Fig. i, 

 is from a photo by Mr. H. Main. The moth flies in May and 

 June, and is often common in meadows, on railway banks, and 

 other sloping banks and such-Hke places where wild flowers 

 abound. The species is widely distributed over England, 

 Wales, and South Scotland ; also Ireland. 



The range abroad extends to Amurland. 



>■ > . The Burnet Companion (Euchdta glyphua). 



'^v^ The ground colour of the fore wings is purplish brown, 



^T.'r' sometimes becoming greyish on the outer area; the space 

 VH^* between the dark brown or blackish cross bands is sometimes 

 filled up with the darker colour. Some specimens are much 

 greyer than others, and all the examples in a series from the 

 Lake district that I have seen were distinctly grey, with very 

 dark bands. The yellow on the hind wings sometimes inclines 

 to orange, and sometimes it is so pale as to be almost whitish ; 

 there is also variation in the amount of black marking and 

 shading on these wings. (Plate 26, Figs. 8 6)9?-) 



The caterpillar is somewhat similar to that of the last species ; 



