86 BRITISH INSECTS 



A fairly good type is the familiar small magpie- 

 moth, 1 whose larvae feed on the stinging - nettle. 

 The grass-moths 2 that abound in meadows in summer, 

 the wax-moths 3 that infest the combs of bees, and 

 the flour-moth, 4 that is such a nuisance in corn- 

 mills and bakeries, are other well-known examples ; 

 but the so-called china-marks 6 are perhaps the most 

 remarkable group, for their larvae feed on submerged 

 water-plants, and in some instances are furnished 

 with gills. 



The hook-tips, with six indigenous species, make 

 up the family Dvepanulidce. The characteristic hooked 

 shape of the fore- wing is an obvious distinction, while 

 the larvae have no prolegs on the hindmost segment, 

 which is prolonged into a pointed process, raised up 

 when the creature is at rest. 



The family Lasiocampida is represented in Britain 

 by eleven species, including the eggar- and lackey- 

 moths, as well as the drinker, 6 and the lappet. 7 These 

 have no frenulum, and the proboscis is obsolete, no 

 food being taken in the adult stage. The antennae 

 are doubly pectinated, or " feathered," in both sexes. 

 The caterpillars are stout, hairy, and have the usual 

 number of prolegs. When full fed they spin dense 

 cocoons above ground. 



The family Lymantridcz* likewise includes eleven 

 British species, which resemble the foregoing in the 

 absence of a proboscis ; but a frenulum is present, and 

 the antennae are bipectinate only in the males. These 

 are the so-called tussock-moths, whose larvae have 



1 Botys urticata. 2 Crambina. 3 Galleriance. 



* Ephestia kuhniella. 5 Hydrocampina. 



6 Odonestis potatoria. 7 Gastropacha quercifolia. 



Or Liparida. 



