A Day on the Mountain 97 



into an umbrella, and have, in this manner, found the Moth 

 fairly plentiful in most hilly districts, where natural birch 

 woods were abundant. The moths usually emerge in March, 

 and the individual here noticed had not improbably been 

 waiting for some weeks for fine weather in which to com- 

 plete the business of her existence. When at rest, the 

 insect often clings to quite a slender branch on a birch tree, 

 where, though from its bulk conspicuous enough, it bears so 

 close a resemblance to a tuft of greeny-grey lichen as to 

 present one of the most remarkable instances of protective 

 mimicry to be met with in the insect world. In such 

 shelterless situations, it is able, as I have frequently noticed, 

 to brave days, or perhaps even weeks, of severe frost, 

 becoming numbed, or " dormant," but reviving again on the 

 return of fine weather. In very hard frosts, of long con- 

 tinuance, I have, however, sometimes found this, or kindred 

 species, that had apparently succumbed to the weather, but 

 such cases are quite exceptional, and it is generally im- 

 possible to tell that death may not have been due to other 

 causes than mere cold. 



On the following day, I found an apparently hibernating 

 female of another rather scarce moth, in my experience, and 

 of which no other specimen was seen at Llanuwchllyn, 

 namely Scotosia rhamnata, under a stone at Llyn Lliwbran, 

 near the top of Aran Benllyn. Its occurrence there being 

 all the more unlooked-for as there is certainly no buckthorn 

 growing anywhere in the neighbourhood. 



Our road now lay past Bryncaled, the "Hard hill," and, 

 in passing, two Magpies were noticed flitting about the 

 trees surrounding the adjoining farm house, which appropri- 

 ately enough is called Llwyn-piod, or the " Magpie bush." 

 Down below us lies Pembryn-coch, or the " Red brae," a 

 name, sometimes appearing as Bryn-goch, of common 

 occurrence in the district, and often associated with scenes 

 of former bloodshed. Craig-felen is the " Yellow rock." 

 A little further on is Castell, and beyond that again Llech- 

 wedd-ystrad, or the " Hillside road." The old Roman road, 

 which crosses the hills on the opposite side of the valley, by 

 Bwlch-y-groes, " The Pass of the Cross " (from an ancient 



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