294 . THE GAMMA MOTH. 



hence it is difficult to mark the duration of an indi- 

 vidual ; and others, as the nettle, peacock, and wood 

 tortoise, in many instances survive the winter, hid- 

 den in some recess or sheltered apartment, appear- 

 ing in the spring time-worn and shabby. But van. 

 atalanta appears only in the autumn, not as a pre- 

 served creature, but a recent production ; and hence 

 we can ascertain the period of its life to be com- 

 prised only between those few days that intervene 

 from the end of September to the end of October, 

 by which time its food in our gardens has pretty well 

 disappeared. Some sheltered wall, garnished with 

 the bloom of the ivy, may prolong its being a little 

 longer, but the cold and dampness of the season 

 soon destroy it ; rendering the life of this creature, 

 the most beautiful of our lepidopterous tribes, of 

 very brief duration. 



The gamma moth (phalsena gamma) is also ano- 

 ther creature, that seems in no way affected by moist 

 seasons, which retard the appearance, or apparently 

 destroy so many others of its kind. This crea- 

 ture has imprinted on its dark wings a white cha- 

 racter, something like the letter Y, but more like 

 the small Greek gamma, and hence has received a 

 pertinent name. Like Cain, it bears with it, in all 

 its wanderings, a mark, that distinguishes it from 

 others of its race. Its habits also are quite unlike 

 those of other moths, as it feeds principally in the 

 day-time ; and we see it late in the summer whisk- 



