BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 1Q3 



two autumn flying moths it has been noticed that a 

 large proportion are of various tints of yellow and 

 brown, so as exactly to match with the " sere and 

 yellow leaf" ; while in winter they are of grey and 

 silvery tints like the washed-out leaves and grass, the 

 fog and the hoar-frost which give a tone to every land- 

 scape at this season. One of the most curious of 

 these resemblances, pointed out by Mr. Alfred Wal- 

 lace when writing of the " Disguises of Insects," is 

 that of the Buff-tip moth. This insect closes its wings 

 so as almost to form a cylinder, and on the tip of each 

 wing is an oval yellowish spot, edged with a dark 

 brown double line. The wings are greyish and hoary, 

 and the head again is much contracted beneath the 

 large thorax, which is also of a buff colour, with a 

 double brown marginal line. The result of this ar- 

 rangement is that the insect looks at first sight like a 

 piece of stick, one end being broken off nearly square, 

 the other end more obliquely, and as it often rests on 

 the ground among grass or on leaves, it may easily be 

 mistaken for a piece of a broken branch which has 

 fallen to the ground. 



The Lappet Moth when at rest resembles very 

 closely a small bunch of dead leaves, and at a little 

 distance could hardly be taken to be a moth, so 

 curiously does it spread out its hind wings so as to 

 project beyond the others. Many such instances 

 have been indicated, and many others probably re- 

 main to be observed even amongst our commonest 

 insects. 



Readers need scarcely be reminded that the beauti- 

 ful silken fabrics which are the pride of manufacturers 

 o 



