THE BROWN SCALLOP. l6l 



Yorks., and once recorded in Durham ; it occurs in Wales and 

 in Scotland, but only in the more southern part of each country. 

 It is not plentiful in Ireland, but widely distributed. The range 

 abroad includes Amurland. 



The Brown Scallop {Scotosia vehdatd). 



The male is always smaller than the female, and is notice- 

 able for its long body with tuft of hairs at the extremity. The 

 wings in both sexes are dingy brown, or greyish brown, and the 

 usual lines on fore wings are blackish, the space between first 

 and second often dusky. (Plate 60, Fig. 6.) 



The caterpillar is short and stout, and in form very like that 

 of the winter moth ; the back and a central dorsal stripe are 

 black, the latter bordered with white, the sides are yellow ; the 

 spiracular line is black, broken, and unconnected ; the spiracles 

 are black ; the head is black, and the edge of the first ring of 

 the body is yellow. (Crewe.) It feeds, in May and June, on 

 purging buckthorn {Rhajnnus cathartlais)^ and is to be found 

 between two or more leaves, which it spins together as a hiding 



place. 



In June and July the moth may sometimes be obtained by 

 beating bushes of buckthorn, or the herbage below and around ; 

 this plan works best when operated just before dusk. As a 

 British insect it is only found in England, and is most frequent 

 in the southern and eastern counties, but v/idely distributed in 

 the west to Worcester, and has been found in Lancashire, 

 Westmorland, and Yorks. In the last-named county, cater- 

 pillars were obtained freely at Askham Bogs in 1900. 



When Stephens wrote of this insect in 1831 he noted its 

 occurrence "in. a lane near Fulham." Even so recently as 

 1906 I obtained specimens on the Putney side of Wimbledon 

 Common. 



The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia. 



Series II. ^"^ 



