134 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



SO on the hinder rings ; the back is also dotted with black, and 

 has some dark V- or X-shaped marks upon it ; the body tapers to 

 the notched dark-brown head. It feeds on bedstraw {Galiiini)^ 

 convolvulus, etc., and, like others of its tribe, has a taste for 

 withered leaves. August to May or June, according to the 

 season. In confinement it has been induced by warmth to feed 

 up quickly, and appear as a moth the same year. Only a short 

 time is passed in the chrysalis stage. July is perhaps the best 

 month for the moth, but it may be seen at any time from late 

 June to early August. Its haunts are fens, marshes, and moist 

 woodlands, etc., and although it is more frequent in the south, 

 it is widely spread throughout England, but in the north it is 

 rare, and its occurrence more or less casual. 



In Wales it has been recorded from Glamorganshire and 

 Flintshire ; but it is apparently unknown in Scotland and 

 Ireland. 



u^ The Blood-Yein {Tlmandra amatd). 



} .s^^ The stripe across the wings of this pretty species (Plate 50, 

 ^ Figs. 9 and 10), extending from the apex of the fore wings to near 



the middle of the inner margin of the hind wings, is normally 

 pinkish red, but it may be of a more crimson or purplish hue ; 

 it also varies in width. The fringes are usually pinkish red, 

 and occasionally the margins of the wings are tinged v^ith the 

 same colour. The whitish-ochreous ground colour is normally 

 finely powdered with grey, but sometimes so thickly that a 

 greyish tinge is imparted to the wings. Barrett mentions a 

 specimen with pale smoky brown wings, and, excepting that 

 the tips of the fringes are tinged with pink, the usual markings 

 are absent. In another example, "the space between the 

 central and second lines is filled up with purple brown." 



The caterpillar is brownish grey, with three whitish lines on 

 the back, the central one intersecting a scries of four dark 



