NOCTUAS. 



81. 



whatever that may be ; the body has the 

 same tint as the hind wings. 



The Rev. John Hellins has described the 

 CATERPILLAR of this moth as short and thick in 

 form, and very wrinkled He says : " The 

 head is small and retracted, the thirteenth 

 segment also very small, the segmental folds 

 deeply cut, ground colour variable; sometimes 

 dark gray; then the dorsal line is pale gray, 

 edged with black at the segmental folds. The 

 subdorsal line is a series of pale gray wedges 

 on the several segments, the thin end of each 

 wedge pointing forwards, and its upper side 

 bordered by a short oblique black stripe, and 

 its bigger end inclosing a black dot : below 

 again comes a rather broad dark-brown stripe, 

 and below that a narrow one of gray ; spiracles 

 black, each placed on a little swelling ; belly 

 pale gray. Sometimes the ground colour is a 

 dirty reddish-brown, with the dorsal line par- 

 taking of the same tint, but paler, edged with 

 black, as before, most distinctly at the folds ; 

 the subdorsal row of stripes of the same colour 

 as the dorsal line, but of uniform width, and 

 showing distinctly only on the anterior part of 

 each segment, where also appear a pair of black 

 dots ; the spiraculax brown stripe tinged with 

 ochreous. There is another variety of dirty 

 flesh-colour, with the markings but faintly 

 visible." 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June : it 

 has been taken in all our southern and midland 

 counties, and occasionally in the northern also, 

 extending as far north as Kirkcudbrightshire ; 

 and Mr. Birchall says it is common in most 

 parts of Ireland. (The scientific name is 

 Orammuia trilinea.} 



Obs. 1. I always take the descriptions of 

 Mr. Hellins or Mr. Buckler, when these gentle- 

 men have published them, in preference to my 

 own unpublished descriptions ; first, because 

 thy are generally so excellent, and, secondly, 

 aa a just tribute of thanks to entomologists 

 who, by publishing these descriptions in the 

 Entomologists' Monthly Magazine, have saved 

 me infinite labour, and thus laid me under an 

 obligation I can never otherwise repay or ac- 

 knowledge, in the present instance, I would, 

 however, venture to suggest that Mr. Hellins 



has hardly given an exact idea of the form of 

 this caterpillar, which 1 should rather describe 

 as somewhat onisciform, the extremities nar- 

 rowed, the middle of the body broad, and the 

 belly flattened. The colour of the head is 

 testaceous, and the front of the second segment 

 of the same colour, or even more inclining to 

 red. It feeds on the great plaintain (Plantago 

 major). 



Obs. 2. Four supposed species are here in- 

 cluded under the name Trilinea. First, the 

 Equal Treble-lines (Noctua trilinea) of Ha- 

 worth (Lep. Brit., No. 262), represented in 

 the upper figure ; second, the Iiiequal Treble- 

 lines (Noctva approximans) of Ha worth (Lep. 

 Brit., No. 263), represented in the second 

 figure; third, the Clouded Treble-lines (Noctua 

 semi/uca) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 264), 

 represented in the third figure ; and, fourth, 

 the Dark Treble-lines (Noctua bilinea) of 

 Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 265), represented 

 in the lowest figure. 



615. The Marsh Moth (Hydrilla palustris), female. 



515. THE MARSH MOTH. " The palpi are 

 slender and straight or bent downwards, and so 

 densely clothed with long scales, which add 

 greatly to their apparent size, as entirely to con- 

 ceal the apical j oint : the antennae are short and 

 moniliform : the fore wings of the male are ob- 

 long, and rounded at the tip, they are of a violet 

 gray-brown colour, with the two discoidal 

 spots, and two approximate and parallel trans- 

 verse lines (the elbowed and the subterminal) 

 darker, but all the markings are very obscure, 

 and composed of dark scales : the hind wings 

 are silky and whitish-gray, with the wing-raya 

 and a line (trait) occupying the whole cellule 

 darker. The female is much smaller than the 

 male, and has the fore wings narrower and 

 darker-coloured, and the markings less distinct ; 

 the hind wings are also darker and narrower- 



