l8 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



among the undergrowth, etc., at the base of the trunk, whence 

 they return to their feeding quarters by crawling up the tree at 

 dusk. 



The moth is out in August and September, and although 

 it does not seem to care much about the collector's sugar when 

 spread on tree trunks in the usual way, it seems to accept it 

 freely enough when daubed on the foliage. The leaves of the 

 lime are, however, generally well coated with a sweet substance 

 proceeding from Aphides^ and commonly known as honeydew. 

 This in itself is very attractive to the moths. The species 

 seems to be widely distributed over England, and will perhaps 

 be found in most districts where limes flourish. In Wales it 

 has occurred in Flintshire, Denbighshire, and Carnarvon. 

 McArthur obtained a specimen in the Isle of Lewis in 1887, 

 and Renton records it as found in Roxburghshire. Little is 

 known of it from Ireland, but it has been noted from Wicklow 

 and Galway. 



The Barred Sallow {Ochria {Xanthia) aurago). 



The ground colour of the fore wings, which in the type is 

 pale yellow, ranges through various shades of yellow to deep 

 orange. The basal and outer marginal bands are pale purplish, 

 in the type, but in the more orange forms the bands are rather 

 more reddish purple. In 2h.fiicata^ Esper, the purplish colour 

 of the bands spreads over the orange central area, and in ab. 

 unicolor^ Tutt, the orange invades the basal and outer marginal 

 regions, so that the bands are pretty well obliterated, and the 

 fore wings assume a more or less uniform orange coloration. 

 The latter form is uncommon, but a rarer one in this country 

 is ab. lutea^ Tutt, which has the fore wings almost entirely 

 orange -yellow. (Plate 10, Figs. 2 and 3, the latter inclining to 

 ab. u7iicolor.) 



The caterpillar is reddish brown with pale dots, and with 



