102 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



dant in England and Ireland, but 1 have 

 not seen Scotch specimens. (The scientific 

 name is Lomaspilis marginata.) 



230. The Horse-chestnut (Pichycnemia hippocsata- 

 naria). 



230. THE HORSE-CHESTNUT. The an- 

 tennae are almost simple in the male as well 

 as the female ; the fore wings long and 

 narrow, like those of the genus Lithosia ; 

 the hind wings are rounded ; the fore wings 

 are brown, with a very slight tendency to 

 purple, and have two narrow transverse 

 pale bars, both of them indistinct ; the first 

 of these bars is near the base of the wing, 

 and of a crescentic form ; the second is 

 almost parallel with the hind margin ; be- 

 tween these two bars is a central dark spot ; 

 the hind wings are pale smoky-brown ; the 

 head and thorax are of the same colour as 

 the fore wings ; the abdomen of the same 

 colour as the hind wings. 



The CATERPILLAR is sometimes found in 

 great abundance by sweeping the heath in 

 the heath-field at West Wickhain. It has 

 a very broad head, and a cylindrical body, 

 of a dingy olive-green colour. I had a large 

 number of these caterpillars brought to me 

 in 1857, but unfortunately lost them during 

 a temporary absence from home. 



The MOTH appears in May, on the heaths 

 of Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire, but I 

 have not heard of its occurrence in the 

 midland or northern counties of England, 

 in Scotland, or in Ireland ; in France, a 

 second brood makes its appearance at the 

 end of June. (The scientific name is 

 Pachycnemia hippocastanaria.) 



Obs. The natural position of this species 

 among the Geometrse seems extremely doubt- 

 ful ; its nearest allies appear to me to be 

 the species of Chesias hereafter to be de- 

 scribed ; but Gruenee thinks it has no 

 characters in common with them except the 

 elongated form of its fore wings. Herrich- 

 Schaeffer points out its resemblance to the 



genera Lithosia and Nola, and even to 

 Sarrothripa Reayana, a moth belonging to 

 an entirely different section of the Lepidop- 

 tera. Both the English and scientific name 

 are very inappropriate to an insect which 

 in neither of its states has any connection 

 with the horse-chestnut. 



231. The Early Moth (Hybern<a rupicaprarict). 



231. THE EARLY MOTH. The an'ennae 

 of the male are slightly pectinated ; those 

 of the female simple ; the fore wings of 

 the male are ample, of a dark-brown colour, 

 and having two transverse lines still darker ; 

 the outer and longer of these has a pale 

 exterior margin ; between these transverse 

 lines is a conspicuous dark spot placed 

 transversely between them ; hind wings 

 very pale, with a nearly median transverse 

 line which is parallel to the semicircular 

 margin ; in the middle of the area enclosed 

 by this line is a spot of similar tint. The 

 wings of the female are very short, and cut 

 off obliquely at the hind margin, as repre- 

 sented in the lower figure ; these are palish 

 brown, with a darker central band. 



The EGGS are laid in February, on the 

 trunks and twigs of whitethorn, blackthorn, 

 and less commonly of oak. 



The CATERPILLARS emerge in April, and, 

 wandering among the twigs, are ready to 

 begin eating as soon as the leaves expand : 

 they grow rapidly, and have attained their 

 full size by the end of May or beginning 

 of June. The full-fed caterpillar generally 

 rests with both feet and claspers attached 

 to the food-plant, and the back arched. The 

 head and body are of nearly equal width, 

 the head not conspicuously notched on the 

 crown ; the body velvety and without humps 

 or warts. In colour the variation is extreme ; 



