THE SILVER Y MOTH. 131 



covered irregularly with brown. A rather large 

 patch occupies the middle of the wing, and upon 

 this patch is placed, as if for contrast, the gamma- 

 like mark which looks as if it were made of 

 burnished silver leaf. In fact, with all these 

 Moths which exhibit the letter-like marking, the 

 metallic glitter exists as in the Burnished Brass 

 Moth, but only to a very limited extent, instead 

 of occupying the greater part of the wing as in 

 that insect. 



The hind-wings are rather pale grey, but a 

 broad dark band extends round the hind margin. 

 It is a day-flier and very active Moth, dashing 

 about with such rapidity, that it is not easily cap- 

 tured, even by a practised wielder of the net. 



The caterpillar feeds on various herbs, and is 

 sometimes terribly destructive in gardens — more 

 so on the Continent than in England. In some 

 parts of France it has destroyed whole crops at a 

 time, and its ravages were the more destructive 

 because the peasantry, with their usual supersti- 

 tious ignorance, thought that the creature was 

 venomous, and so refused to eat any plant that 

 one of the caterpillars had touched. 



This very common Moth appears throughout 

 the whole of the summer, and may be seen on 

 the wing far into the autumn, flying about the 

 K 2 



