THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Dingy Shears (Dysc/wrista (Sidemia) fissipincta). 



In its typical form this species (Plate 4, Fig. 4) has the 

 fore wings pale greyish brown, but occasionally they assume a 

 reddish tinge. Var. corticea, Esp., is of the latter colour, and 

 has the black edges of the claviform extended to beyond the 

 middle of the wing. In another form the fore wings are dark 

 grey brown (Fig. 5), leading up to var. nigrescens^ Tutt, with 

 blackish fore wings and the hind wings darker than usual. 

 Besides the forms just mentioned, I have a bred specimen 

 from Canterbury in which the fore wings are of a pale whity 

 brown, with very faint markings, and the hind wings are 

 almost white ; it is rather below the average size, and possibly 

 is an abnormal aberration. This species is the ypsilon of 

 Borkhausen, and the upsilon of other authors. 



The caterpillar is brown, sometimes inclining to reddish 

 marked with black above, and the under surface is paler ; there 

 are three pale lines along the back, and one low down along 

 each side ; head, pale brown freckled with darker brown. It 

 feeds in April and May on willows, chiefly the narrow-leaved 

 kind, and also, although less frequently perhaps, on poplar. 

 These caterpillars may often be found in the daytime under 

 loose bark of the willow, or lurking among grass roots or 

 debris around the trunk. (Fig. i on Plate 3 is from a coloured 

 drawing by Mr. A. Sich.) 



The moth is out from late June through July. It is a constant 

 visitor to the sugar patch, and will put in an appearance even 

 when other species refuse to be drawn thereto. It appears to 

 be pretty well distributed over England, and in the southern 

 half at least is not uncommon, wherever there are old-established 

 willows. In the northern counties it seems to be much less 

 frequent, but it is recorded as common or plentiful in one or two 

 Cheshire localities, and is said to be taken by all the Newcastle 



