GEOMETERS. 



59 



FAMILY III. AMPHYDASYD,E. 



125. The Pale Brindled Beauty (Phiijalia pilosaria). 



126. The Belted Beauty (Nt/ssi-i zomtria). 



127. The Small Brindled Beauty (Xyssia kispidaria). 



128. The Brindled Beauty (Biston ftirtaria). 



129. The Oak Beauty (Amphydasis prodromaria). 



130. The Peppered Moth (Ampkydasis betulana). 



125. The Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria). 



125. THE PALE SWINDLED BEAUTY. The 

 female has no wings, my description will 

 therefore apply only to the male. Wings 

 rounded without any trace of angles, mot- 

 tled grey, with four waved transverse bars 

 merely indicated, that is, looking as though 

 they had been plainly visible once, but had 

 been almost rubbed out. The wings have 

 altogether a worn or semi-transparent appear- 

 ance ; the scales seem thinly spread over the 

 surface, some of them white, others black, 

 others brown, and so few of the same colour 

 together as to give the whole a grizzled ap- 

 pearance without any determined colour or 

 markings. Hind wings of the same colours, 

 but fainter ; antenna? feathered; thorax very 

 stout and hairy, rather darker coloured than 

 the fore wings ; body not so stout, of the 

 same colour. The caterpillar feeds on oak, but 

 I have never met with it. Guenee describes 

 it as of a grey-brown colour, clouded with 

 red-brown, and as having warts on the fifth, 

 sixth, seventh and twelfth segments. The 

 moth is a very early one, flying in February 

 and March ; it is not common near London, 

 but is abundant in the north and west of 

 England. (The scientific name is PMgalia 

 pilosaria.) 



126. THE BELTED BEAUTY. The female 

 is entirely without wings ; the wings of the 

 males are without any angles, small and 

 rounded ; the fore wings dark grey, and hav- 

 ing two very distinct transverse bars parallel 

 with the hind margin, and an irregular white 



126. The Belted Beauty (Nyssia zonaria). 



longitudinal stripe extending from the base of 

 the wing almost to the first transverse bar, and 

 including a short, narrow transverse black 

 bar, and several black rays. The hind wings 

 are white, with a dark-grey hind margin, a 

 dark-grey transverse bar parallel with the 

 margin, and a second transverse and zigzag 

 dark-grey bar across the middle of the wing; 

 antennae feathered; thorax very stout and 

 hairy, dark smoky grey with two longitudinal 

 white stripes, and a dash of white at the base 

 of each wing ; body black, with six pinked 

 yellow belts, the sides and tip fringed with 

 long whitish-grey hairs. The caterpillar is 

 without humps and of a dingy-green colour 

 marbled with whiter shades, and having a 

 yellowish stripe along each side ; it feeds 

 on the common yarrow. This moth has only 

 been found in one locality in Great Britain, 

 and I had the great pleasure of making the 

 discovery known to entomologists by the 

 following particulars which I inserted in the 

 Entomological Magazine. Mr. Eveleigh, the 

 President of the Banksian Society of Man- 

 chester, supposing this beautiful and interest- 

 ing moth new to science, most kindly brought 

 three specimens to London that I might 

 describe and name the species. Previously, 

 however, to doing this, I took them to the 

 late James Francis Stephens, then our oracle 

 in all matters relating to insects, and found 

 from that gentleman that they were as 

 completely unknown to him as to Mr. Eve- 

 leigh and myself. Not satisfied with this 

 failure of obtaining information, and feeling 

 confident that so striking an insect must 



