232 COMMON BRITISH INSECTS. 



which look as if they had been drawn in water-colours 

 with the very finest of brushes, and then damped so 

 as to blur their edges. The hind wings have only 

 one streak, which runs obliquely towards the anal 

 angle, and, when the wings are spread, looks as if it 

 were a continuation of the first stripe on the upper 

 wings. The shape of the Moth almost exactly re- 

 sembles that of the Brimstone Butterfly. 



The perfect insect appears about July, and can be 

 beaten out of bushes and hedges. Though the wings 

 are large, they are thin and not very powerful, so that 

 there is no difficulty in capturing the insect. 



NEXT comes the family of the Ennomidae, popu- 

 larly called the Thorns, containing nearly thirty 

 species, a typical example of which we will select for 

 examination. In this family the hind wings are not 

 tailed. Our first example is the BRIMSTONE MOTH 

 (Rumia cratcegata), which is shown beneath. 



This very plentiful Moth is of a bright sulphur 

 yellow, -with a few irregular streaks, and several ruddy 



chestnut spots on the edge 

 of the upper wings. 



The caterpillar has three 

 humps, and possesses four 

 pairs of claspers instead of 

 umia cratagata. \v o. The first and second 



pairs are, however, not used for progression. The 

 larva feeds both on the blackthorn and whitethorn, 

 and when full-fed spins a thick cocoon close to the 

 ground, and sometimes on it. The Moth may be 

 found throughout the summer, as may the caterpillar. 



