342 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



hind margin ; the head, thorax, and body 

 have the same variation in general tint as the 

 fore wings. 



The EGG is laid in July, on a number of low 

 plants, on which the young CATERPILLARS feed ; 

 one of those very commonly selected is the 

 common chickweed (Alsine media)', they are 

 hatched in August, and hybernate early : as 

 soon as the buds of the sallow and whitethorn 

 open, they ascend the stems and feed on the 

 young leaves. The caterpillar is full-fed in 

 May, when it rolls into a compact ring if dis- 

 turbed. The head when moving is porrected, 

 and is rather narrower than the body ; the 

 body is velvety, nearly uniformly cylindrical, 

 but increasing almost imperceptibly to the 

 twelfth segment, which is the largest ; the 

 colour of the head and body is dingy umber- 

 brown, the head being slightly variegated 

 with darker shades of the same colour ; the 

 dorsal region of the body is uniformly brown ; 

 the anterior segments from the second to the 

 fifth, both inclusive, are interrupted by a 

 median very narrow and very indistinct line ; 

 the eleventh and twelfth segments have each 

 two very conspicuous velvety dorsal markings 

 almost black ; on the eleventh segment these 

 are distant, narrow, longitudinal, and waved; 

 those on the twelfth segment are decidedly more 

 approximate, broader, and larger; their figure 

 is irregular, but their anterior extremity is 

 pointed, the posterior extremity square; the 

 spiracles are white, and are situated at the 

 extreme edge of the brown dorsal area ; below 

 them is a broad pale wainscot-brown stripe 

 extending the entire length of the caterpillar, 

 and this, from the second to the seventh seg- 

 ment, is tinged along the middle with brick- 

 red ; the belly is smoky-brown, and the legs 

 and claspers are of the same colour. It 

 changes to a smooth brown CHRYSALIS on the 

 surface of the earth. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and 

 .'is common everywhere. (The scientific name 

 is Tryphcena orbona.) 



Obs. I am indebted to Mr. Bond for the 

 variety represented in the third figure, and to 

 Mr. Wellman for the richly-marked variety 

 represented in the fourth figure. 



550. The Large Yellow Underwmg (Tryphoena 

 pron \iba) . 



550. THE LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING. In 

 different specimens the fore wings vary iu 

 general colour, from pale wainscot-brown to 

 rich umber-brown, and occur with almost 

 every intermediate shade ; the discoidal spots 

 are generally clearly defined, the circumscrip- 

 tion being paler than the ground-colour ; in 

 some specimens the orbicular is entirely pale ; 

 thei-e are many transverse lines, some darker 

 and some paler; but these are very variable 

 and inconstant; there is, however, a pale line 

 parallel with the hind margin, almost invari- 

 ably present, and adjoining the upper or costal 

 extremity of this is a double black spot : the 

 hind wings are orange-yellow without a dis- 

 coidal spot, but having a narrow waved black 

 band parallel with the hind margin ; the head 

 and thorax are of the same colour as the fore 

 wings; the body paler, and inclining to 

 reddish-yellow towards the tip : 011 the last 

 segment but one is a transverse black spot. 



