140 London Insects. 



Less favoured mortals are turned out of the garden 

 with as little hope of appeal as Adam and Eve, 

 and if tempted to cast one longing, lingering look 

 behind, it is only to recognise Michael in Mr. Mitford, 



and see 



" The gate 

 With dreadful faces thronged," 



capped with the blue helmets of the Metropolitan 

 police. 



We have, unfortunately, a great many more speci- 

 mens than we care for of one class of Moth, the little 

 " tineae," the common Cloth Moth. It is too small 

 almost to be seen except in a good light, but 

 possesses a power, which an electric eel might envy, of 

 galvanising the portliest and most precise of good 

 ladies'-maids or housekeepers into spasmodic jumps 

 and flings, by showing itself near a sable cloak or 

 blanket cupboard. 



The typical London Moth is the Vapourer. It is 

 in more ways than one exceptionally interesting. In 

 the first place, unlike most of its kind, which bury 

 their chrysalises and hide themselves until after dusk, 

 the Vapourer is to be seen in all its stages without 

 going out of the way to look for it. The Caterpillar, 

 which is very pretty and curious, has slashes of pink 

 or red, and yellow-pointed tufts of hair sticking up 

 at regular intervals along its back, and longer tufts of 

 darker hair, one perpendicular on its tail, the other 

 two like whiskers, horizontal, one on each side close 

 by the head. It is to be found on the underside of 

 the broad leaves on the branches of the plane trees 

 which hang over the paths in St. James's Park often 

 with two or three successive out-grown skins, com- 

 plete with hairs and tufts, on the same leaf with the 

 living Caterpillar. A little later, the same broad 



