226 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 



it sits with the. wings making an extremely inclined 

 roof. 



A very interesting circumstance connected with this 

 insect is the curious fact that the Rev. J. Hellins bred 

 six specimens, from six eggs deposited by a female, cap- 

 tured August 19th near Worthing, by Master W. J. 

 Wilson, and that all these six specimens were differently 

 coloured and marked, and not one resembled the parent 

 moth, which was of the ordinary typical form described 

 above. This unexpected chapter in the history of this 

 insect has been made the subject of a paper by Mr. 

 B. M'Lachlan in the Transactions of the Entomological 

 Society of London (vol. ii., third series, p. 453), illus- 

 trated by a plate representing the larva, and the six 

 individuals which were reared. 



FAMILY XII. ZERENID^:. 



ABEAXAS GROSSULAEIATA. THE LARGE 

 MAGPIE MOTH. 



This conspicuous insect is common throughout the 

 country, and is generally very abundant. 



The expansion of the wings is rather more than 

 H inch. All the wings are white, with numerous dis- 

 tinct black spots, placed in transverse rows, there being 

 five rows on the fore- wings and three on the hind-wings ; 

 the third row of spots on the fore-wings are almost 

 always confluent, so as to form a nearly entire black 

 band; the first and second rows are also sometimes 

 confluent ; the fore-wings are also ornamented with an 

 orange blotch at the base, and an orange band beyond 

 the middle, between the third and fourth rows of black 

 spots. 



