242 COMMON BRITISH MOTHS 



acantha) and various fruit trees ; and on the twigs of these (espe- 

 cially the hawthorn) the little clusters of eggs may be seen during 

 the winter. 



Family LEUCANIID;E 



In this family we have a number of rather small moths, with, 

 generally, no markings on their wings, save, perhaps, a few dots or 

 streaks. 



Their larvae feed principally on grasses and reeds, and change to 

 the chrysalis state either in a cocoon among the food plants, or 

 under the surface of the ground. 



Several of these insects are very common, and most of them 

 abound in fens and marshes. 



The Brown-line Bright-eye (Leucania conigera) 



The fore wings are yellowish brown. The ' brown line ' is a 

 transverse line parallel with the hind margin, and distant from it 

 about one-fourth the length of the wing. Another dark brown line, 

 describing a sharp bend, passes across the wing near the base. 

 The ' bright eye ' is a light spot just outside the centre of the wing, 

 nearer the costa than the inner margin. 

 This is another of those marks that 

 occur very constantly in the -wings of 

 the Noctuce, It lies beyond the orbi- 

 cular spot, and is usually somewhat 

 kidney-shaped, and is consequently 

 named the reniform. 

 FIG. 142. THE BEOWN- The caterpillar is yellowish or grey- 



LINE BKIGHT-EYE. ^ with a pale dorsal line edged with 



black. On each side of this is a broad 



black line, below which is a yellow line edged with black, then a 

 whitish stripe, next a yellow line edged with black on the upper 

 side, and lastly a broad brownish line, just above the spiracles, 

 edged with black on both sides. It feeds on couch grass (Agro- 

 pyron repens) and various other grasses, and is fully grown in 

 May. 



The moth flies in July and August, and is common throughout 

 the United Kingdom, 



