NOCTTJAS. 



257 



middle of July, when it spins a silken cocoon 

 on the underside of a bramble-leaf, and therein 

 hirns to a dark brown CHRYSALIS. 



The MOTH appears in about a fortnight and 

 is extremely local, being almost confined to 

 the counties of Kent and Sussex. (The sci- 

 entific name is Acronycta auricoma.) 



Obs. Mr. Doubleday thinks this species 

 may be double-brooded : the moth certainly 

 appears in May from chrysalids of the pre- 

 ceding autumn. 



435. The Light Knot- Grass (Acronycta 



Menyanthidis) . 



435. THE LIGHT KNOT-GRASS. The an- 

 tennae are simple, but stouter in the males 

 than in the females ; they always possess an 

 ochreous tint : the colour of the fore wings is 

 pale gray with black markings, as follows : at 

 the middle of the base is a short streak which 

 generally unites with an angulated transverse 

 line crossing the wing very near the base ; 

 beyond the middle is a second and bent line; 

 betwee^ +hese two lines are the two discoidal 



spots, the orbicular is generally a small and 

 perfectly circular ring, but sometimes it is a 

 solid spot having no pale central area; the 

 reniform is large but less clearly defined ; the 

 hind-marginal area of the wing is darker than 

 the median or basal areas : the costal margin 

 and fringe are spotted : all these markings 

 are subject to be suffused and indistinct : the 

 hind wings are brewn-gray with a whitish 

 fringe : the head is gray ; the thorax gray, 

 with a black line on each side at the base of 

 the wing ; the body is gray. 



The CATERPILLAR rests in a nearly straight 

 position on the twigs of the sweet-gale (My- 

 rica gale), on the leaves of which shrub it 

 feeds : the head is rather narrower than the 

 second segment ; the body is of almost uni- 

 form substance throughout, and rather obese, 

 the segment swollen in the middle, the inci- 

 sions between them very decided ; each seg- 

 ment has a transverse series of warts, and 

 each wart emits a radiating fascicle of longish 

 hairs : the colour of head, body, legs, and 

 claspers is black, excepting the warts which 

 are bluish, the spiracles which are white, and 

 an interrupted stripe below them which is 

 bright red. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June, 

 and has occurred in most of those boggy dis- 

 tricts in England where the sweet-gale grows. 

 (The scientific name is Acronycta Menyan- 

 tnidis.) 



Obs. I am indebted to Mr. Bond for the 

 loan of the beautiful varieties represented in 

 the third and fourth figures. 



436 The Sweet-gale Moth (Acronycta Myrica). 



436. THE SWEET-GALE MOTH. The anten- 

 nae are slender and simple; the costal margin of 



M 17 



