308 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



there is a corneous dorsal plate on the second 

 and twelfth segments. The colour of the 

 head and of these dorsal plates is dingy-red ; 

 of the body pale grayish-green, but varying to 

 different tints in different specimens ; there 

 are traces of five longitudinal stripes paler 

 than the ground colour, but these are very 

 indistinct ; these stripes are studded with 

 minute warts, each of which emits a short 

 stiff black hair ; the spiracles are black and 

 connected by a dark stripe ; the ventral is 

 paler than the dorsal area, its colour is in- 

 clining to dingy ochreous-green. When fuli- 

 fed it leaves the grass on which it has been 

 feeding, and descending to the earth forms an 

 oval cell in the ground, and in this changes 

 to a small and reddish CHRYSALIS of rather 

 slender form : these may frequently be dug 

 up in gardens, especially those in which weeds 

 have been allowed to get too much ahead. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June and 

 July, and is abundant in most of our English 

 counties : in South "Wales, Monmouthshire, 

 Herefordshire, it flies in the day-time over the 

 ripe grass when ready to cut, and is accom- 

 panied by the following species, Fasciuncula. 

 (The scientific name is Miana strigilis.) 



Obs. Four of Haworth's species are here 

 included under the name of strigilis : the 

 Marbled Minor (Noctua prceduncula, Lep. 

 Brit., No. 145), represented in the upper 

 figure ; the Minor Beauty (Noctua strigilis, 

 Lep. Brit., No. 146) ; the Tawny Marbled 

 (Noctua latruncula, Lep. Brit., No. 147), 

 represented in the third figure ; and the 

 Blackamoor (Noctua sEthiops, Lep. Brit., 

 No. 148), represented in the last figure. 



509. The Middle-barred Minor (Miana fasciuncula) . 



509. THE MIDDLE'- BARRED MINOR. The 

 palpi are porrected and curved upwards ; 

 the antennae are rather stout in the male, 

 sleude* in the female ; the colour of the fore 



wing is reddish-brown, with a darker central 

 band, in which are situated the paler discoidal 

 spots : the hind wings are dark smoky-brown ; 

 the body is slightly crested. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June, 

 flying over the standing grass : it occurs in 

 all our counties from the North of Scotland 

 to the Land's End, but is not very abundant. 

 (The scientific name is Miana fasciuncula.} 



Obs. I have followed Haworth and Double- 

 day in treating this as a distinct species : 

 Guenee makes it a variety of Strigilis, from 

 which it differs principally in the red tinge 

 which pervades the wings and in the smaller 

 size : the CATERPILLAR and economy are un- 

 known. 



610. The Rosy Minor (Miana lit&rosa). 



610. THE ROSY MINOR. The palpi are 

 ourved, porrected, and slightly ascending ; 

 the antennae are very slender in both sexes : 

 the fore wings are gray-brown and suffused 

 with a beautiful tinge of vinous-red ; the 

 wing is almost equally divided in two areas 

 by a straight whitish transverse line ; the 

 area within this divisional line is darker than 

 the area without,, which has a pearly-gray 

 tinge, shading, however, into the vinous-red 

 towai'ds the hind margin ; in the pearly-gray 

 space is situated the reniform, in the darker 

 or basal area is situated the orbicular : the 

 hind wings are pearly gray-brown : the thorax 

 is slightly crested, the front pearly gray, 

 transversely traversed by a black line ; the 

 square disk of the thorax is vinous-red ; the 

 body is pearly-gray. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June and 

 July, and occurs in most of our English coun- 

 ties, but is particularly abundant in Devon- 

 shire, Cornwall, and the South "Western 

 Coxmties. (The scientific name is Miana 

 liter osa.) 



