50 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



the flowers of ragwort on the shore of Lough Swilly, near 

 Buncrana, Ireland, and one is recorded as taken near Aberdeen, 

 Scotland, in July of that year. The late Dr. Mason had a 

 specimen said to have been taken at Attleborough, in Norfolk, 

 June, 1880. The latest recorded capture is that of a specimen 

 taken by Mr. F. Capel Hanbury in a clover field near Dart- 

 mouth, South Devon, September 4, 1900. 



The range abroad extends through Central and Southern 

 Europe eastward to North India, North China ; and southwards 

 to North-west Africa. It occurs also in the Western United 

 States of America. 



The Bordered Straw {Heliothis peltigera). 



Two examples of this species are shown on Plate 19, 

 Figs. 4, 5. The fore wings are pale ochreous brown, with a 

 more or less reddish tinge ; the cross lines are not always 

 distinct, but there is generally a dark dot on the costal end of 

 the first line, and a large olive-brown spot between the second 

 and submarginal lines ; following the submarginal line is a pale 

 band of variable width, but always with a black dot (sometimes 

 double) towards its lower end. Very pale specimens are 

 referable to ab. pallida^ Cockerell. 



The caterpillar (Plate 20, Fig. 3, figured from a coloured 

 drawing by Mr. A. Sich) is green, with three darker green or 

 reddish stripes along the back ; the stripe along the area of 

 the spiracles is dark green, edged below with white, but when 

 the other stripes are reddish this is also marked with that colour. 

 Several other forms have been described, and the caterpillar 

 seems to be a most variable one. It feeds, from June to 

 August, and again in September and October, on many kinds 

 of low-growing herbage, such as restharrow {Ononis)., clover 

 {Trifolium\ Matricaria inodora^ etc. ; also on furze or gorse 

 {Ulex)., and thorn apple {Datura). The blossoms and unripe 



