

GEOMETEES. 



61 



their leaves. When full fed it buries itself 

 iu the earth and changes to a blackish and 

 somewhat dumpy chrysalis ; the perfect moth 

 comes out the following April, and crawls Tip 



the trunks of trees, more particularly in the 

 squares of London, where twenty or thirty 

 may sometimes be seen on one tree. (The 

 scientific name is Biston hirfctra.') 



129. The Oak Beauty (Amphydasis prodromaria). 



129. THE OAK BEAUTY. Fore wings dirty 

 white, with two irregular broad brown bands; 

 the first of these bands is short, and near the 

 base of the wing ; its outer edge is bordered 

 with black ; the second baud is near the hind 

 margin, and its inner edge is bordered with 

 black ; the whitish space between these two 

 bands is sprinkled with black dots, and there 

 is a crescent-shaped black mark near the mid- 

 dle ; the whitish space along the hind margin 

 is also variously dotted with black ; the hind 

 wings are paler than the fore wings, and are 

 transversely waved with black. The antenna) 

 are feathered in the male, thread-like in the 

 female ; the forehead is white, the front of 



the thorax also white ; the sides whitish-grey, 

 and the back of the thorax as well as the body 

 brown. 



I never found the caterpillar of this hand- 

 some moth : it is described as being brown, 

 marbled Avith white, and as having two small 

 reddish lumps on the back of the eighth, 

 ninth and twelfth segments, and a small lump 

 on the belly on the seventh, eighth and ninth 

 segments; the head is slightly notched in 

 the middle : it is found feeding in July aud 

 August on oak and birch ; the moth comes 

 out in the following March and April : it is 

 not common. (The scientific name is 

 Ampliydasis prodromaria.) 



130. The Peppered Moth 



130. THE PEPPERED MOTH. All the wings 

 dingy white, speckled and streaked with 

 smoky brown ; head white ; antennre of the 

 male feathered and smoky-black ; of the 

 female thread-like, black, ringed, with white 

 thorax and body dingy-white, spotted with 

 black. A very variable insect ; some speci- 

 mens have a very decided pattern, others 

 are sprinkled all over with small black spots, 

 and others again are black and unspotted. 



Caterpillar with the head deeply notched 

 in the middle ; the ground-colour is various ; 



(Amphydasis betularia). 



I have seen them almost the colour of putty, 

 but some have a green tinge, and others a tinge 

 of red-brown ; on each side of the fifth, sixth, 

 seventh, eighth, tenth and eleventh segments 

 is a reddish raised spot, aud there are two such 

 spots on the back of the ninth and twelfth 

 segments. It feeds in August on acacia, lime, 

 birch, oak and many other trees ; it buries 

 itself in the ground in September, and turns 

 to a rather brown, rather dumpy chrysalis: the 

 perfect moth comes out the following May. 

 (The scientific name is Ampliyclasis lettdaria. 



