BRINDLED BEAUTY. 67 



Bi8ton\ hetularia). By looking at this and tne 

 preceding Moth, few indications are perceived 

 that the insects belong to the Geometrae, and 

 that the caterpillars are, as in this case, true 

 Loopers. 



The popular name of this insect exactly re- 

 presents its appearance, the wings being greyish, 

 sprinkled profusely with blackish brown dots 

 and streaks, the markings being as variable in 

 different specimens as if the black marks had 

 been shaken at random out of a pepper-castor. 



The caterpillar, which feeds on many trees, 

 such as the lime, birch, oak, &c., is as variable 

 in appearance as the perfect insect, the ordinary 

 hue being brownish, with a tinge of green or 

 mahogany. The pupa may be dug out of the 

 ground at the foot of the trees on which it feeds 

 while in the larval condition. The Moth flies 

 about May. The male Peppered Moth is smaller 

 and darker than the female, and has the antennae 

 deeply feathered. 



There is a closely-allied insect, the Brindled 

 Beauty {Bistort hirtaria), which is in some 

 years much too plentiful to please the gardener, 

 the caterpillars feeding on the plum, the pear, 

 and other fruit trees, and sometimes occurring io 

 Buch numbers that the trees are seriously injured 



