244 COMMON BRITISH INSECTS. 



coloured with various shades of grey, crossed with 

 bars and bands of different browns, mixed here and 

 there with ochreous yellow, and taking a slight 

 purplish gloss along the costal margin. At the tip of 

 each wing is a large buff blotch, marked off from the 

 rest of the wing by two dark-brown lines enclosing a 

 grey line between them. The buff blotch has on it 

 a few markings of deeper hue. The hind wings are 

 paler greyish ochre, and the whole of the under surface 

 is of the same colour, with the exception of a dark bar 

 crossing the lower wings diagonally, and a dark hind 

 margin to the upper wings. The thorax is large, 

 covered with dense, gold-coloured down, and nearly 

 conceals the head. 



When at rest, this Moth presents a very curious 

 aspect. The wings are pressed against the body 

 which they cover, the two yellow spots at their tips 

 exactly balancing at one end the yellow thorax at 

 the other. The large thorax itself looks very much 

 like a head, and on that account the specific name of 

 bucephala, or * bull-headed/ has been given to the 

 insect. In consequence of the peculiar aspect of the 

 quiescent attitude, the Buff-tip Moth often escapes 

 observation, as most persons would mistake it for a 

 piece of dried stick. 



The caterpillar feeds upon the lime, the elm, the 

 hazel, and one or two other trees, and often does 

 considerable damage. It is semi-social in its habits, 

 and, though plentiful, is not often seen until full-fed, 

 in consequence of its peculiar, idiosyncrasies. The 

 eggs are laid in batches, sometimes as many as sixty 

 in number, on the upper part of a leaf, and when 



