VAPOURER MOTH. 223 



doptera except perhaps the Clothes-Moth, which is 



more plentiful than desired that is abundant in 



London, and may be found 



even in the dingiest and smokiest 



portions, provided that trees or 



shrubs grow in it. He is one of 



the day-flying moths, and seems 



tO revel in the blazing SUn- Orgyiaantiqua.male. 



beams, flitting about with rapid, and apparently un- 

 certain wing, upon the hottest days of summer. 



There is, however, nothing uncertain about his 

 flight, for he has a very definite object, namely, to 

 seek a mate. Considering the kind of creature she is, 

 and her peculiar habits, one is led to marvel, in the 

 first place, how the active, prettily-coloured male 

 Vapourer can find anything attractive in the female, 

 who is about as plain not to say, plebeian -an insect 

 as can well be imagined. Indeed, a less attractive 

 and more commonplace creature can hardly be seen. 

 She has no wings to speak of, these organs being 

 quite undeveloped and simply rudimentary, so that 

 she could not fly one single inch. Her body is large, 

 thick, soft, and covered with grey down, slightly 

 darker at the edge of each segment. 



This curious creature never wanders from the 

 spot where she happens to have passed into the pupal 

 state. Like the male, she has, when a full-fed cater- 

 pillar, spun a silken web, within which she has under- 

 gone her transformation. 



The male has done the same, but when he has 

 assumed the perfect form, he shakes out his pretty 

 wings, takes to the air, and gaily sets out, like ' Ccelebs/ 



