144 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



to yellowish between the rings ; there are indications of darker 

 lines on the middle of the back and along the sides ; the usual 

 dots are whitish and the spiracles black ; in some specimens 

 the central line on the back is pinkish. It hatches from the 

 egg in March or April, and feeds until June on mallow {Malva 

 sylvestris) ; will also eat hollyhock. 



The moth appears in September and October, and is some- 

 times seen in November. It hides under the mallow, and other 

 plants around, and is not much inclined to move during the day, 

 but it becomes active in the evening, and then flies pretty briskly. 

 The occurrence of this species in any locality will, of course, 

 largely depend upon the presence of the food plant, but it seems 

 to be widely distributed throughout the greater part of the 

 British Isles. It is, however, most frequent in the southern 

 half of England. 



■ ; 



.[^/j^^%%. Shaded Broad-bar (OrfkoHtha Umitata). 



2 j^ ^ To the earliest British entomologists this species (Plate 54, 



»*^ Figs. 8 and 9) was known by the English name given to it by 



Moses Harris, which is here revived. Haworth's popular name 



for the insect is the " Small Mallow," but this seems less 



suitable. 



The fore wings are usually ochreous brown in colour, with a 

 darker brown band, the inner area of which is often paler. The 

 ground colour, however, varies considerably, in some examples 

 tending to whity brown, and in others to a smoky hue. The 

 whitish hind wings are generally more or less dusky clouded, 

 chiefly from the base of the wing to the dark brown or blackish 

 cross shade ; but sometimes these wings are entirely blackish, 

 with just a trace of a pale cross stripe. 



The caterpillar is greyish, with a pinkish tinge and black 

 dots ; there are three lines along the back, the central one 

 slaty blue, and the others ochreous, shaded on each side with 



