154 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



with black, and sometimes there are whitish Hnes between 

 them ; those on the central area are often united by a blackish 

 cloud, and so form a band, and not infrequently the basal area 

 is also blackish marked. (Plate 58, Figs. 3 and 4.) The ground 

 colour is very apt to fade if the insect is exposed to moisture of 

 any kind, as, for instance, when pinned in a damp collecting 

 box, but I have one bred specimen of a reddish ochreous colour, 

 and I am assured that it was of this tint when it emerged from 

 the chrysalis. An old English name was " The Brindle-barred 

 Yellow." 



The thick-set caterpillar is green, more or less tinged with 

 pinkish ; three interrupted pink lines on the back, the central 

 one sometimes inclining to purple, and broken up into spots ; 

 the head is brown, sometimes marked with purplish, and there 

 are two tiny points on the last ring of the body. It varies in 

 the green tint and also in marking. It feeds on flowers and 

 leaves of holly, ivy, dogwood, privet, etc., in June and July, 

 and in some sheltered southern localities again in September 

 and October. 



The moth is out in May and early June, and where a second 

 generation is developed, in August and early September. It 

 sits in the daytime on tree-trunks, but more especially those 

 with smooth bark ; the stems of holly are a favourite resting 

 place, but at Box Hill I have occasionally seen a specimen on 

 the trunk of a beech tree. Barrett states that it also rests on 

 the trunks of fir trees, and that it is then very easily seen. 

 Night is its time of activity, and it is then attracted by light. 



The species seems to be widely distributed, but locally 

 and not generally common, throughout England, Wales, and 

 Ireland ; it has only been recorded from Rosemount, Ayr, and 

 one or two other localities in the south of Scotland. 



The range abroad extends to Western India, Amurland, and 

 Japan. 



