THE PURPLE BAR. 203 



at night on bramble and raspberry, in August and September, 

 occasionaliy earlier or later. In the daytime it rests on the 

 underside of a leaf. When full grown it forms a cocoon just 

 under the surface of the soil, or among rubbish (in the cage), 

 and therein changes to a dark reddish-brown chrysalis 

 (Plate 76, Fig. la). 



The moth is out in June, sometimes in late May, and 

 occasionally there seems to be a few individuals about in 

 August. The species is a denizen of the woodlands, and is 

 generally to be found in the more open parts of woods where 

 its food plants are well established. It is widely distributed 

 over England and Wales, but most frequent in the south of the 

 former country. In Scotland, it is local in Roxburghshire and 

 Wigtownshire ; and it occurs in many parts of Ireland. The 

 range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan. 



'■ W^ i^it. The Purple Bar {Mesoktua ocellata). 



The whitish fore wings of this species (Plate 82, Fig. 12) are 

 often tinged with pale ochreous brown on the lower two-thirds 

 of the outer marginal area, and this tint sometimes invades the 

 cencral portion of the bluish-black central band. Rarely the 

 ground colour is almost entirely white, and the central band 

 is very slender (ab. coarctata^ Prout), and perhaps rather more 

 . frequently the band is completely severed below the middle. 



The caterpillar, which feeds at night on bedstraw {Galitim 

 inollugo and G. veruni)^ is pale ochreous brown, or pale 

 pinkish brown, netted with darker brown ; on the back are a 

 reddish ochreous central line, and some reddish edged pale 

 V-marks : June and July, and sometimes again in the autumn. 



The moth is out in June and early July, occasionally in late 

 May in some southern localities. Individuals of a second 

 emergence sometimes appear in August and September. It 



