THE DARK CHESTNUT. 2$ 



to this, the orbicular sometimes has a blackish dot at its lower 

 end. 



The caterpillar feeds, in May and June, on oak, elm, etc., and 

 also upon low-growing plants. It is reddish brown above, 

 and greenish beneath, sometimes the upper surface is tinged 

 with green also ; the back is freckled with pale brown, and the 

 three lines along it are faintly paler, the raised dots are 

 whitish ; head, glossy pale brown, freckled with reddish-brown, 

 and lined with darker brown. 



The moth occurs at sugar, ivy bloom, etc., in the autumn 

 and early winter, also at sallow catkins in the spring, in pro- 

 bably almost all wooded localities throughout the British Isles. 



Its range abroad extends to Japan. 



The Dark Chestnut {^Orrhodia {Conistrd) ligula). 



Four examples of this species are shown on Plate ii. The 

 typical form has a white band on the outer area of the fore 

 wings (Fig. 7); sometimes this band is ochreous (ab. subnigra^ 

 Haworth), and a modification of this, in which the outlines of 

 the stigmata and the veins are pale, is var. ochrea^ Tutt. Ab. 

 polita, Hiibner (Fig. 9), has a whitish-grey submarginal band 

 and greyish cross lines, and ab. spadicea^ Haworth (Fig. 10), is 

 a dark form without any distinct markings. This species has 

 long been incorrectly known as spadicea^ Hiibner, which, as 

 noted above, is a form of vaccinii, L. Staudinger, probably to 

 prevent confusion, deposed spadicea^ Haworth, and set up 

 siibspadicea in its place. 



Fig. 8 represents a specimen from North Kent that somewhat 

 suggests ab. suffusa^ Tutt, of the previous species. On com- 

 paring the outer marginal contour of the fore wings of these 

 closely allied species, it will be noted that in all forms of ligula 

 the margin below the tip is always slightly concave, thus giving 



