46 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



The caterpillar is of a purplish pink colour, with a black- 

 edged ochreous-brown line along the middle of the back, 

 broken up by reddish-brown triangles ; the stripe along the 

 region of the black spiracles is yellowish white flecked with 

 red ; the sides of the body above the stripe are flecked with 

 reddish, and above them is a yellowish-white line and some 

 black marks. Head, brownish, freckled with darker. It feeds 

 at night, in July, on bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus), cowberry 

 {V. vitis-idcEo), and can also be reared on strawberry tree, 

 sallow, knotgrass, etc. In the daytime it must be searched 

 for under the leaves. 



The moth is out in May and the early part of June, and is 

 most active in the sunshine, but flies on dull days' when the 

 weather is warm. It seems confined to the higher level of the 

 mountains, and its habits are similar to those of the last species, 

 but its range extends to the Shetland Isles. The species was 

 not recognised as British until about 1830, and the same 

 remark applies to A. coj-digera. 



The Small Yellow Underwing {Heliaca tenehratd). 



The fore wings are a little more reddish in some specimens 

 than in others, and occasionally the yellow of the hind wings 

 is much reduced in area by the expansion of the black border, 

 or it may be suffused with blackish. (Plate 17, Figs. 3 and 4.) 



The caterpillar is green, with three lines along the back, the 

 central one dark green and the others whitish, bordered below 

 with dark green ; the stripe low down along the sides is yellowish 

 white, edged above with dark green. It feeds, in June and July, 

 on mouse-ear chickweed {Cerastium), devouring the blossom 

 and seeds, when young boring into the unripe c.ipsule. 



The moth flies on sunny days in May and early June, and is 

 more or less common in grass-bordered lanes, hay meadows, 

 etc., in most counties throughout the southern part of England. 



