GEOMETERS. 



The Blaok-veined, underside. 



The EOQS are laid on various grasses at the 

 end of June ; they are of a deep bright orange- 

 colour when deposited, but become almost 

 black before they are hatched, which event 

 usually takes place about the middle of July : 

 the young CATERPILLARS feed freely on knot 

 grass : they continue to grow slowly until they 

 are somewhat more than an inch in length, 

 when they retire for the winter, concealing 

 themselves among the stems of grasses, <fec., 

 which appeartobetheirfavourite resort. They 

 now are long and slender, and rest on the knot- 

 grass, attached by the claspers only, the body 

 being held semi-erect ; a slight bend occurs at 

 the ventral claspers, and another at the third 

 pair of feet, the intervening segments forming 

 an elliptic arch ; the head is porrected on a 

 plane with the body, and the three pairs of 

 feet are directed forwards, but not crowded 

 together ; when touched, shaken, or otherwise 

 irritated, the anterior segments are bent down- 

 wards and contorted until they almost form a 

 ring : head flat, porrect, exserted, of the same 

 width as the anterior segments : body very 

 slightly incrassated from the fourth to the 

 tenth or eleventh segment, transversely 

 wrinkled, and having a longitudinal lateral 

 skinfold, which, by increasing the width of the 

 caterpillar when stretched at full length, gives 

 it a slightly depressed appearance ; the anal 

 flap is deltoid, its apex terminating in a few 

 bristle-like hairs, which are directed back wards : 

 head and body putty-coloured, striped longi- 

 tudinally, the stripes varying only in intensity 

 of colour : a dark and very narrow medio-dorsal 

 stripe extends from the head to the tip of the 

 anal flap ; this is darker at the anal extremity, 

 and is not perfectly uniform in width, but ex- 

 pands and contracts here and there in its 

 course : this narrow stripe is intersected by a 

 median, thread-like, paler stripe : on each side 

 of the medio-dorsal stripe is a paler and 



broader stripe, containing a single series ot 

 black dots, and being also longitudinally inter- 

 sected throughout by two thread-like rivulet 

 markings of a slightly darker hue ; each of 

 these pale stripes unites with the pale lateral 

 margin of the anal flap ; adjoining each pale 

 stripe is a darker stripe of similar width, and 

 this is longitudinally intersected by three paler 

 thread-like lines. Of these the middle one is 

 the most distinct : adjoining this is a paler 

 stripe, comprising tha skinfold and spiracles ; 

 this commences behind the head, and termi- 

 nates in the anal claspers : below the pale 

 skinfold is a broader dark stripe, commencing 

 behind the head, and terminating in the 

 ventral claspers; this also is longitudinally, 

 but very indistinctly, intersected with paler 

 threads : ventral surface pale, longitudinally 

 intersected by three dark stripes, each of which 

 is double, or again intersected by a median pale 

 threadlike stripe ; these three ventral stripes 

 commence at the third pair of feet, and termi- 

 nate at the ventral claspers : legs and claspers 

 with the sane shade of colour as the body. 

 After hibernation these caterpillars begin t<i 

 feed about the middle of April, and ajefull fed 

 by the middle of May, when each spins a 

 delicate yellow shuttle-shaped cocoon, attached 

 longitudinally to a culm of grass. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and 

 is very common in one or two localities in 

 Kent ; it is unknown elsewhere in England or 

 Scotland, but has been found by Mr. Birchall 

 in Ireland. (The scientific name is Scoria 

 dealbata.) 



221. The Purple-barred Yellow (Lythria purpuraria) , 

 males. 



221. THE PURPLE-BARRED YELLOW. The 

 antennae of the male are strongly pectinated, 

 almost plumose, the pectinations long and 

 rather distant ; those of the female are only 

 pubescent : the fore wings are olive-yellow, 

 with the fringe and two or three transverse 

 bands, neither of which, quite reaches the inner 



