THE LYCHNIS MOTH. 121 



The colours of this Moth are very simple, the 

 ground tint being rather dark brown, upon 

 which are a number of paler marks, the shape 

 and arrangement of which can be seen by refer- 

 ence to the accompanying figure. The most 



characteristic of these marks is the pale belt, 

 which runs parallel with the hind margin of the 

 wings, and a greyish white nervure that runs 

 through the middle of the wing. The hind- 

 wings are rather dark grey. The two sexes of 

 this Moth are easily distinguished by the shape 

 of the abdomen, which in the male is compara- 

 tively short, and tipped with a tuft of feathery 

 plumes, while in the female it is long, conical, 

 and sharply pointed. 



The caterpillar may be found upon the White 

 Campion, sometimes called the Corn Lychnis 

 '^Lychnis vesperiina), feeding upon the seeds of 

 the plant. It is rather a pretty caterpillar, the 

 colour being brown, and each segment being 



