254 



BEITISH MOTHS. 



of the head is umber-brown, with very dark 

 reticulations on the cheeks ; the colour of 

 the body is delicate apple-green, with a 

 well-marked niedio-dorsal stripe, of a rich 

 purple-brown colour ; this is dilated on the 

 second segment immediately behind the 

 head, also on the fifth, eighth, and ninth 

 segments ; thence it decreases in width, and 

 on the twelfth and thirteenth segments is 

 very narrow ; the spiracles are white, in a 

 brown ring; the legs and claspers green, 

 red-brown at the extremities ; when full- 

 fed, it spins together any dead leaves or 

 rubbish within its reach, or buries itself in 

 decayed wood, if it have the opportunity ; 

 and thus concealed it changes to a CHRYS- 

 ALIS, and remains in that state through- 

 out the winter. 



The MOTH appears on the wing during 

 June and July. I have received it from 

 Cambridge, but know of no other locality. 

 (The scientific name is Acronycta strigosa.) 



431. The Alder (Acronycta Alni). 



431. The fore wings are gray, with a very 

 large dark brown, almost black, blotch 

 which occupies nearly half of the wing, 

 extending from the middle of the base to 

 the hind margin, near the anal angle, and 

 covering all the inner margin, excepting a 

 very small space at the basal, and another 

 at the anal angle, both of which are gray : 

 this dark blotch has also a broad band or 

 branch, which connects it with the middle 

 of the costal margin : the areas not occu- 

 pied by this blotch are two, the first 

 occupying broadly the basal half of the 

 costal margin, the second being somewhat 

 triangular and apical, both of them are 

 beautifully marked with darker shades ; 

 the fringe is spotted ; the reniform spot is 

 indicated by a pale gray outline ; the orbi- 

 cular is scarcely perceptible j the hind wings 

 are white, with smoky discoidal spot, wing- 



rays and apical angle, the fringe is spotted ; 

 the head is gray, the antennae and eyes 

 black ; the thorax gray, with a black streak 

 at the base of the wings ; the abdomen 

 gray, inclining to smoky. 



The CATERPILLAR rests in a nearly straight 

 position, and does not fall from its food- 

 plant when disturbed, or exhibit any symp- 

 toms of uneasiness when handled ; its head 

 is about equal in breadth to the second 

 segment, and intensely glossy ; the body is 

 almost uniformly cylindrical, the segmental 

 divisions clearly indicated The colour of 

 the head is black, of the body intense 

 purple-black, without gloss, and having in 

 most specimens a medio-dorsal series of 

 yellowish markings, one ou each segment ; 

 these are transverse and oblong, and in 

 many specimens bordered with white ; the 

 presence of these markings is not constant, 

 and some entomologists have figured the 

 caterpillar only exhibiting these on the 

 second and twelfth segments ; each seg- 

 ment has a process or appendage on each 

 side resembling a black horse-hair dilated 

 and flattened at the tip : the appearance of 

 these appendages is so remarkable that it 

 is impossible to mistake this caterpillar for 

 any other ; when full-fed, it sometimes spins 

 together the leaves of its food-plant ; some- 

 times it excavates a dead bramble stick ; and 

 in either situation changes to a CHRYSALIS 

 of a rich deep chestnut-brown colour. With 

 regard to the food-plant of the caterpillar, 

 there is considerable doubt ; it has been 

 found in confinement to eat whitethorn 

 (Cratsegus oxyacantha) , and alder (Ainu" 

 glutiiiosa), but I am not certain whether it 

 has been ascertained to eat either of these 

 in a perfectly natural condition. 



The MOTH appears in June, and has been 

 found occasionally in most of our English 

 counties, and Mr. Birchall records the 

 occurrence of a single specimen from the 

 county Wicklow, in Ireland, but it has 

 always been regarded as a great rarity. 

 (The scientific name is Acronycta Alni.) 



Obs. The extraordinary caterpillar of this 

 moth has no affinity with any others of the 

 genus ; indeed, the great diversity in the 

 caterpillars of the Acronyctse is very re- 

 markable. 



