338 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



uniformly coloured, generally smoky-green; 

 in some specimens olive-green, in others 

 smoke-coloured, with scarcely a perceptible 

 shade of green : on the dorsal surface of each 

 segment are two somewhat distant conspicuous 

 markings of an intense velvety black: the 

 figure of each of these markings is that of a 

 longitudinally elongated square or parallelo- 

 pipedon, its limits always clearly denned but 

 not very regular ; near the head these markings 

 become narrower or more linear, and the pair 

 on the twelfth segment are also narrow and 

 placed obliquely; the legs are red-brown and 

 very shining. 



These caterpillars feed on the fescue-grass 

 (Festuca ovina), several species of hawk-weed 

 (Hleracium), sun cistus (Cistus helianthemum), 

 wild thyme (Thymus SetrpyU/um\ devil's bit 

 scabious (Scabiosasuccisa), golden rod(Solidago 

 Virgaurea), burnet (Poterium Sanguisorba), 

 &c. ; and in confinement revel on sallow (Salix 

 caprea), especially the catkins. They feed by 

 night only, and bury themselves in the earth 

 by day ; they were full-fed and finally dis- 

 appeared beneath the earth on the 8th of May. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in August, 

 and hitherto has only been taken in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Llangollen, in North Wales. 

 (The scientific name is Agrotis Ashworthii}. 



545. The Lesser Broad-Border (Tryphcena ianthina) . 



545. THE LESSEE BROAD-BORDER. In all 

 the " yellow underwings " the palpi are in- 

 conspicuous; theantennse in both sexes simple, 

 and the fore wings rather narrow and rather 

 elongate ; the hind wings are very ample ; in 

 the Lesser Broad-Border the colour of the fore 

 wings is rich brown, glossed and tinted with 

 purple reflections ; the costa is very pale at 

 the base, the pale portion being confined to a 



mere marginal line : there are three delicate 

 clouds of a gray tint descending from the costa 

 obliquely towards the middle of the wing, and 

 nearer the tip of the wing is a transverse 

 series of pale spots parallel with the hind 

 margin ; these are generally not more than 

 three or four in number, and are confined to 

 the costal portion of the wing ; the discoidal 

 spots are imperfectly indicated by portions of 

 a gray outline: the hind wings are bright 

 orange in the middle, and on the hind margin, 

 and black at the base ; they have also a broad 

 waved band of intense black parallel with the 

 hind margin : the head and collar are very 

 pale, the thorax and body are rich brown, with 

 a vinous tint. 



The CATERPILLAR is byno means common ; it 

 occurs sometimes at the roots of polyanthuses 

 and other garden plants, concealing itself by 

 day and feeding by night; it eats into th- 

 crown, and also feeds on the leaves of these 

 and other garden plants : the head is smaller 

 than the second segment, and very shining ; 

 the body obese, smooth, and velvety ; the 

 colour of the head is dull testaceous-brown, 

 of the body dingy ochreous, with a paler 

 narrow medio-dorsal stripe on each side of each 

 segment after the seventh, and there are two 

 conspicuous black spots on each side of the 

 ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth segments , 

 the ventral is paler than the dorsal surface, 

 and the legs and claspers are concolorous. The 

 egg is hatched in the autumn, and the cater- 

 pillar feeds through the winter, and is full-fed 

 in April and May, when it buries itself just 

 below the surface of the earth, and changes to 

 a smooth red-brown CHRYSALIS. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and 

 occurs in most of our English, Scotch, and 

 Irish counties. Mr. Reading says it is com- 

 mon throughout Cornwall and Devonshire ; 

 and going thence northward and eastward, I 

 find the name in almost every local list. (The 

 scientific name is Tryphcena ianthina.) 



Obs. The colour of the fore wings is 

 remarkably rich and attractive, and is less 

 liable to vary than in any other species of tiie 

 genus Tryphcena, 



