6 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



spot on each side above them. (Adapted from Porritt.) It 

 feeds, from April to June, on the foliage of birch and aspen, 

 and may be found in the daytime between the lower leaves. 



The moth flies in August and September, and at night will 

 visit the sugar patch and also heather blossom. It has but 

 few fixed localities in England, and these are chiefly in Not- 

 tinghamshire (Sherwood Forest), and Yorkshire (woods near 

 Doncaster, Huddersfield, and Sheffield). There are, however, 

 records of its occurrence in the south of England. Stainton 

 obtained one at Lewisham in 1846, and Barrett notes one 

 at Highgate in 1870. One or two specimens have occurred in 

 Essex, Somersetshire, and Gloucestershire. From its head- 

 quarters in Notts and Yorks. it seems to find its way occasionally 

 into some of the adjoining and other counties. Forsythe states 

 that he bred the moth from larvae obtained from oak at Methop, 

 Lanes., and it has been reared from a caterpillar taken in 

 North Shropshire. It has occurred on Cannock Chase, Staffs., 

 and rarely in Worcestershire. 



From Porritt's List of the Lepidoptera of Yorkshire we learn 

 that the occurrence of this species in Yorkshire was not noted 

 until 1880 (Doncaster), but it seems to have since extended its 

 range in the county, as in 1900 it was found in the Huddersfield 

 district, and a few specimens occurred near York in 1903. As 

 stated, it has been bred at Methop, Lanes., and, according to 

 Barrett, it is not scarce in Cumberland. Southwards from its 

 Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire headquarters it has been noted, 

 more or less rarely, in Staffordshire, Shropshire, Worcester- 

 shire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset ; and on the east side in 

 Lincoln, Norfolk, Essex, and Kent. In Scotland it appears 

 to be not uncommon in Moray, and it is occasionally recorded 

 from Inverness and Perth. The range abroad extends to 

 Amurland and to North America. 



