GREY PINE CARPET. 175 



Note. — According to Prout, sagittata is not a Cidaria, as its 

 larva is of a very different form ; and siterata and miata are 

 referred to Chloroclysta^ Hiibner. 





\ 



Grey Pine Carpet {Thera variata), ^^^^% % 



In its typical form, the fore wings of this species are greyish, 

 and from this the colour ranges through various tints of greyish 

 brown to smoky brown or blackish ; sometimes these wings are 

 shades of ochreous brown. The usual markings are a basal 

 patch, more or less clearly defined, and a central band, and 

 these may be either brown or blackish ; the band varies in 

 width, is not infrequently narrowed or contracted below the 

 middle, occasionally broken at this point, and more rarely only 

 represented by a small angular spot near the front margin. 



Four examples are shown on Plate 70, and of these i and 2 

 represent our ordinary form obeliscata^ Hiibner (Shaded Broad 

 Bar, of Newman). Fig. 6 is a blackish banded specimen of the 

 obeliscata form, and Fig. 3 is the almost entirely blackish form 

 obliierata,V^h\\.Q (scotica^ Stand.), which is not uncommon in the 

 Paisley district, and other parts of Scotland, and also occurs in 

 a modified form in some pine-woods in the South of England. 



The long caterpillar (Plate 71, Fig. i), which feeds on the 

 needles of Scots pine in April and May, also in July, and 

 sometimes in September, is bright green, with three whitish 

 lines along the back, the central one broad, and a yellowish 

 line low down along the sides ; the green roundish head is lined 

 with white. 



The moth is generally common in pine- woods throughout the 

 greater part of the British Isles. The May-June flight is the 

 most abundant, but there is occasionally a good sprinkling of 

 moths in the autumn. 



Abroad, the area of distribution includes Eastern Siberia, 

 Corea, China, and Japan. 



