PLUME MOTHS. 279 



are viewed through a magnifying-glass, so as to render 

 each of the delicate filaments visible. 



THE Moth conceals itself during the day, making 

 its appearance at dusk, when it flutters about like a 

 snow-flake driven at random by the wind. It never 

 makes a long flight, but if disturbed in one spot, just 

 flits a yard or two and again settles on some leaf, 

 where its white, outstretched, though not outspread 

 wings render it very conspicuous when at rest. It 

 never folds its wings to its body as do so many Moths, 

 but remains with them stretched on either side to their 

 very fullest extent, as if actually courting observation. 



THE last of the Plume Moths, and indeed, the last 

 Moth in our list of British Lepidoptera, is the beautiful 

 little insect which is called by various names, only one 

 of which is in any way correct. In some places it is 

 known by the name of the THOUSAND PLUME, in 

 others by that of the TWENTY PLUME, and in others 

 the MANY-CLEFT PLUME, sometimes abbreviated into 

 MANY PLUME. This last name is the only one which 

 is correct in any way, and, after all, its correctness is 

 only owing to its vagueness, which is almost a literal 

 translation of its scientific name, Alucita polydactyla, 

 or the Many-fingered Moth. In real fact the Moth 

 has twenty-four plumes, which radiate from the body, 

 so that, when the insect is at rest, its outline is almost 

 semicircular. 



It is but a little insect, the largest specimen 

 measuring barely half an inch across the outspread 

 wings. In its habits it is quite different to the Plume 



