49 THE GENERA OF BRITISH Morns. 
before the commencement of the Orthosidi. Panolis Piniperda (the Pine Beauty, No. 5), a very beautiful insect, was 
first discovered in England by Mr. F, Stephens, in 1810, near Hertford, and has since been captured in many other 
localities. The Caterpillar (No. 6) feeds on pine-trees in May and June, and is in some seasons so abundant on the 
Continent as to do considerable injury. 
The genus Glea, in the system I am following, is now restricted to a single species, though formerly contain- 
ing several, which have been rather variously distributed by different authors. It is now represented solely by 
G, Rubricosa (No. 7), the abdomen of which is not depressed as in the discarded species ; the antenne are more hairy 
beneath, and the anterior wings slope more towards the inner angle, at the fringed edge. M. Boisduval places this 
species in Orthosia, and M. Guéené in Teniocampa. The Caterpillar (No. 8) is very large in proportion to the size of 
the perfect insect. It is gray, with a brown dorsal line, and two white dots on each segment. It feeds on a kind 
of Dock, and the Moth appears at tle end of March, frequenting beds of nettles, but it is a rare species. 
The genus Orthosia, the type of the Orthosidi, has formed the subject of much revision, and appears even 
now in a very unsettled state. M. Guéené formed a large section of it intoa genus termed Teniocampa, in allusion to 
the distinct linear markings of the Oaterpillars. M. Boisduval only partially adopted the principle of this sub- 
division, and endeavoured to found it upon the tree-feeding and herb-feeding nature of the Caterpillars, under the 
respective names of larva Herbicolw and larve Arboricole. Mr. Stainton adopts in the main M. Boisduval’s arrange- 
ment, by which the bulk of the species formerly in the genus Orthosia is placed in Taniocampa, leaving only four 
to Orthosia. In the arrangement of the national collection, however, which is principally founded on the system of the 
late Mr. F. Stephens, the genus Orthosia is preserved nearly in its original state, without reference to M. Guéené’s 
sub-genus Teniocampa; the species, not according with the generally received characteristics of Orthosie, having 
been removed to other genera, or formed into new ones. The characters of the genus Orthosia, as it now stands, are: 
antenne ciliated, and sometimes pectinated, in the males; the abdomen smooth and a little depressed; the fore wings 
thick, powdery, and sometimes shining ; the markings more or less faint and indistinct in comparison with allied 
genera; and the wings, when in repose, forming the figure of a very sloping roof. The larve are smooth and 
velvety, and rather attenuated in front. They feed either on trees or herbaceous plants, and the transformation takes 
place in the ground, in a slight earthen cocoon, sometimes mixed with silk. 
Orthosia Inst bilis (the Clouded Drab, No. 9) is one of the most variable of the genus, as will be seen by 
reference to the pale variety (No. 10); and there are specimens exhibiting every intermediate degree both in 
colouring and marking. 
Orthosia Stabilis (the Common Quaker, No. 11) is, on the other hand, as its spee’fie name implies, as 
remarkable for the invariable character of its markings and general appearance. 
Orthosia Miniosa (the Blossom Underwing, No. 12) is so different in the chavacter of its markings from the 
other Orthosia, that it is probable it may be remoyed at no distant time to another genus ; the Caterpillar (No. 13) 
having also some characters which help to distinguish this species from other insects in the genus. 
The other species retained in this genus in the Museum collection are 0. Opima (the Northern Drab), 0. 
Populeti (the Lead-coloured Drab), O. Gracilis (the Powdered Quaker), 0. Munda (the Twin-spotted Quaker), 0. Cruda 
(the Small Quaker), 0. Lota (the Red-line Quaker), 0. Macilenta (the Yellow-line Quaker), O. Neglecta (the Neglected 
Rustic), 0. Sobrina (the Scotch Rustic), O. Congener (the Allied Rustic), O. Hyperborea (the Mountain Drab), only 
two specimens of which are known, and 0. Ruticilla (the Reddish Drab). Among these, the most remarkable are 
perhaps the pretty little 0. Cruda, nearly a third smaller than any other species, and QO. Lota with its fine red-toned 
anterior wings, The species, Ney/ecta, Sobrina, Congener, Mypeborca, and Ruticilla, are queried as true Orthosi@ in 
the Museum Catalogue. 
