178 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



only indicated by a dusky greyish shade in the larger form. 

 Most of the examples of the small form from the Isle of Hoy 

 have also a dark central line on the hind wings. The central 

 band of the fore wings is often broken below the middle, in 

 both forms. 



The caterpillar is yellowish green, inclining to a black tinge 

 on the back, along which are three lines, the central one dark 

 green, and the others yellow and rather broad ; a whitish stripe 

 low down along the sides is sometimes marked with yellow and 

 red, and there is a red thread above it ; head, pink tinged ; two 

 points on last ring of the body. It feeds in July and August, 

 on juniper. The moth is out in October and November, and 

 may be found plentifully flying at night about the juniper 

 bushes. 



Berkshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex appear to be the only 

 English counties in which it is established, and it is probably 

 most plentiful in the last named. It has, however, been 

 recorded from Suffolk, Lancashire, York, and Durham ; also 

 from Carnarvonshire in North Wales. It is more widely 

 spread throughout Scotland, including the Orkneys and Shet- 

 lands, where the moths fly in July. Only doubtfully reported 

 from Ireland. 



Water Carpet {Lampropteryx siiffumafa). 



The fore wings are whitish, more or less clouded with brownish, 

 with dark brown, inclining to blackish, basal patch and central 

 band. The variation tends in two opposite directions ; in the one 

 the general colour is so clouded and suffused with blackish- 

 brown, that the entire fore wings become almost entirely of that 

 colour (ab. piceata^ Stephens), N. England and Scotland ; the 

 other extreme is ab. porrittii, Robson, in which the central 

 band and basal patch are black, and the white ground colour 

 is almost free of brown clouding ; the last named occurs at 



