64 



BEITISH MOTHS. 



on each side paler. The moth flies in June 

 and July, and is very common. (The scientific 

 name is Boarmia repandata.) 



136. The Willow Beauty (Boarmia rhomboidaria). 



136. THE WILLOW BEAUTY. All the wings 

 grey-brown ; a dark-brown crescent-shaped 

 spot in the middle of the fore wings ; several 

 transverse-waved lines or bands are more or 

 less plainly marked on all the wings; the 

 extreme hind margin of all the wings is sur- 

 rounded with a delicate zigzag black line just 

 within the fringe; near the hind margin, and 

 almost parallel with this marginal black 

 line is a pale zigzag line, very indistinct in 

 some specimens, but plainly observable in 

 others ; this commences very near the tip of 

 the fore wings, and terminates i n the anal angle 

 of the bind wings ; the lo ,ver half of this line 

 on the fore wing is nearly straight ; antenna} 

 of the male feathered, of the female thread- 

 like ; head, thorax and body grey-brown. 



The caterpillar is dingy grey, and very stick- 

 like, but is slightly variegated with darker 

 markings, and has a pale-yellowish line along 

 each side by the spiracles ; on each side of 

 the sixth segment there is a slight hump 

 just below this line. It feeds in gardens on 

 roses, plums, birch, &c. The caterpillar is 

 found in September, the moth in June and 

 July, sitting on walls, fences and the trunks 

 of trees ; it is very common everywhere 

 (The scientific name is Boarmia rhomboi- 



137. The Satin Carpet (Boarmia abietaria). 



137. THE SATIH CABPET. Grey-brown, 

 shaded with velvety black-brown ; a central 



crescent-shaped spot on the fore wings very 

 black ; a row of crescent-shaped black marks 

 round the hind margin of all the wings ; a 

 saffron-coloured tint is observable on tine 

 specimens of this moth ; the antenna? are 

 long, feathered in the male, thread-like and 

 very black in the female. A very local moth, 

 found only in pine forests, sitting on the 

 trunks of the pines in July. 



I know nothing of the caterpillar, but Mr. 

 Stainton gives the following description from 

 Freyer : Reddish-grey, often paler or yellow- 

 ish on the back ; subdorsal lines black, inter- 

 rupted ; spiracular line yellowish : it feeds 

 on tir. (The scientific name is Boarmia abie- 

 taria ) 



138. The Ringed Carpet (lioarmia cinctaria). 



138. THEEINGED CABPET. Black-brown, 

 with several transverse- waved darker lines ; 

 near the middle of the fore wings is a pale 

 crescent-shaped spot surrounded with a black 

 line ; beyond this, that is, nearer the tip of 

 the wing, is a conspicuous narrow black 

 transverse line, and again outside of this is an 

 umber-brown transverse band, in fine speci- 

 mens distinct, in worn specimens indistinct ; 

 the hind wings are paler than the fore wings, 

 especially at the base, and are marked with 

 several waved transverse black lines more or 

 less distinct ; the antennae are feathered in 

 the male, thread-like in the female ; bead, 

 thorax and body grey-brown. 



The caterpillar of this pretty moth I 

 have never met with, but it is described by 

 Treitschke as having a notched head, and 

 a small hump on each side of the fifth seg- 

 ment : it is of a dark-brown ground colour, 

 with a row of whitish lozenge-shaped marks 

 along the back on the fifth, sixth, seventh and 

 eighth segments. It feeds on heath. The 

 caterpillar is found in September, the moth 

 in May and June. (The scientific name is 

 Boarmia cinctaria.') 



