NORTHERN WINTER MOTH. 1 57 



to be covered with a sticky compound, which has been put 

 there for the purpose of trapping the almost wingless females 

 of the Winter Moth, as they crawl up the tree after emergence 

 from the chrysalis. In spite of such devices, and other pre- 

 cautionary measures taken to safeguard the trees from attack, 

 the foliage of apple, pear, etc., will not be quite free from the 

 caterpillars of this species in their season. 



The male has greyish brown fore wings, which are crossed 

 by rather darker lines, and a dark, more or less distinct, central 

 band (ab. hye}nata, Hufn). The ground colour is very much 

 darker in some specimens than in others, and examples of a 

 sooty brown colour are not infrequent ; Barrett mentions an 

 almost buff-coloured specimen. In the female, the tiny affairs 

 representing wings are brownish, with indications of a darker 

 band towards the outer margin of the front pair. 



A small, purplish brown form, reared in January, 1882, from 

 caterpillars found in Cumberland, feeding on sweet gale 

 {Myrica gale), was described as a new species under the name 

 inyricaria^ Cooke {Entom., xv. 57). This has been referred by 

 Staudinger to C. boreata, as a form of that species, but it is 

 probably an aberration of C brumata. 



The caterpillar is green, with a stripe of darker green along 

 the back J on each side of this are two white lines, and along 

 the black spiracles is a pale yellowish line ; head, green, some- 

 times marked with blackish. It feeds on the foliage of trees 

 and bushes, and sometimes abounds in April and May. 



The moth appears during the winter months, and has been 

 noted as early as October and as late as February. (Plate 58^ 

 Figs. 8-10.) 



Generally distributed throughout the British Isles. 



Northern Winter Moth {Cheimatobia boreaia). 



This species is generally larger than the last-mentioned. 

 The fore wings are marked somewhat as in that species. 



