MARBLED MINOR— SHOULDER KNOT 



the pale yellow, or straw colour, of the hindwings is a 

 distinguishing feature. 



Marbled Minor. — {Miana strigilis.) This common 

 moth is of general distribution, and is on the wing in 

 June and July. The larva feeds on grasses in early 

 Spring, after passing the Winter in a state of torpor. 

 It is purplish-brown on the upper parts, and ochre- 

 colour beneath, with a pale yellow stripe down the back, 

 and another on either side. The black spiracles are 

 conspicuous. The imago is subject to great variation, 

 but a general description might be reddish-brown, or 

 greyish-brown, on the forewings, with lighter on the hind 

 ones. It also varies in size, but not so much as in colour. 



Dusky Brocade.— (^/)i7me« gemina.) This reddish- 

 brown species, with freckled forewings, and plainer, 

 strongly- veined hindwings, is more or less encountered 

 where there is a profusion of grass growing in damp 

 localities. The larva feeds upon grass, commencing in 

 Autumn, and finishing the succeeding Spring. It is 

 brownish-grey, with a line and stripes on the back, and 

 another stripe on the sides. 



Rustic Shoulder Knot. — (Apamea hasilinea.) Cousin 

 of the last mentioned, but decidedly more numerous. 

 The food plant and feeding period resemble that of its 

 cousin A. gemina, and the moth is on the wing in May 

 and June. The pale olive-brown to greyish-brown larva 

 has a lighter line down the back, with black-lined margins, 

 and other markings. The imago is yellowish-brown on 

 the forewings, and the hindwings are paler. There is a 

 black mark at the lower edge of the former from which 

 the popular English name is derived. 



G3 



