Io8 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



tint. Easily distinguished by its shape, and by the chequered 

 fringes. It is the cEstivaria of Hiibner, and thymiaria of 

 Guende. The long, thin, green caterpillar is ornamented with 

 reddish brown, the V-shaped marks on rings 5 to 8 are some- 

 times whitish ; head, deeply notched, brown ; the first ring of 

 the body is also notched. It hatches from the ^"gg in August, 

 when it is said to feed on mugwort {Artemisia vulgaris)^ and 

 other low plants ; after hibernation it feeds on the fohage 

 of oak, birch, hawthorn, rose, etc., and attains full growth 

 in May or June. In late June and in July the moth may be put 

 up from the undergrowth in woods, or from bushes in well- 

 timbered hedgerows bordering lanes and fields. Specimens so 

 obtained are poor in colour as a rule, and it is well, therefore, 

 to rear the species from the caterpillar. (Plate 41, Fig. 3 ; after 

 Hofmann.) This remark applies to all " Emeralds." 



The species is often common in the south and east of England, 

 and along the western side, including Wales, up to Cheshire 

 and Lancashire, but it becomes local in Worcestershire and 

 northwards. There are few records of it from Yorkshire, and 

 its occurrence in Durham, Northumberland, and Scotland is 

 doubtful. In Ireland it appears to be widely distributed, but 

 scarce. 



The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and Japan. 



\Thalcra fimbrialis. A specimen of this Central European 

 species (identified by the late Mr. C. G. Barrett) was taken on 

 August 7, 1902, by Mr. C. Capper, from a blade of grass 

 growing on a slope under Beachy Head, Sussex. The species 

 is somewhat similar in appearance to H. strigata^ but is larger ; 

 the hind wings are notched above the angle on the outer 

 margin ; the fringes of all the wings are chequered with red, and 

 the antennae of the male are bipectinated.] 



