102 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



in England and Ireland, but I have not seen 

 Scotch specimens. (The scientific name is 

 Lomaspilis mwginata.} 



230. The Horse-chestnut (Pachycnemia hippociistn- 

 naria). 



230. THE Ho USE- CHESTNUT. The antennae 

 are almost simple in the male as well as the 

 female ; the fore wings long and narrow, like 

 those of the genus Lithosia ; the hind wings 

 are rounded ; the fore wings are brown, with 

 a very slight tendency to purple, and have 

 two narrow transverse pale bars, both of them 

 indistinct ; the first of these bars is near the 

 base of the wing, and of a crescentic form ; 

 the second is almost parallel with the hind 

 margin ; between these two bars is a central 

 dark spot; the hind wings are pale smoky- 

 brown ; the head and thorax are of the same 

 colour as the fore wings ; the abdomen of the 

 same colour as the hind wings. 



The CATERPILLAR is sometimes found in 

 great abundance by sweeping the heath in the 

 heath-field at West Wickhani. It has a very 

 broad head, and a cylindrical body of a dingy 

 olive-green colour. I had a large number of 

 these caterpillars brought to me in 1857, but 

 unfortunately lost them during a temporary 

 absence from home. 



The MOTH appears in Mdy, on the heaths of 

 Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire, but I have 

 not heard of its occurrence in the midland or 

 northern counties of England, in Scotland, or 

 in Ireland ; in France, a second brood makes 

 its appearance at the end of June. (The 

 scientific name is Pachycnemia hippocasta- 

 naria.} 



Obs. The natural position of this species 

 among the Geometrae seems extremely doubt- 

 ful ; its nearest allies appear to me to be the 

 species of Ckesias hereafter to be described; 

 but Guenee thinks it has no characters in 

 common with them except the elongated form 

 of its fore wings. Herrich-Schae'ffer points 



out its resemblance to the genera Lithosia and 

 Nola, and even to Sarrothripa Hevayana, a 

 moth belonging to an entirely different sec- 

 tion of the Lepidoptera. Eoth the English and 

 scientific name are very inappropriate to an 

 insect which in neither of its states has any 

 connexion with the horse-chestnut. 



231. The Eirly Moth (Hybsrnia rupicaprnriit). 



231. THE EARLY MOTH. The antennae of 

 the male are slightly pectinated; those of 

 the female simple ; the fore wings of the male 

 are ample, of a dark-brown colour, and having 

 two transverse lines still darker; the outer 

 and longer of these has a pale exterior margin ; 

 between these transverse lines is a conspicu- 

 ous dark spot placed transversely between 

 them; hind wings very pale, with a nearly 

 median transverse line which is parallel to the 

 semicircular margin ; in the middle of the 

 area enclosed by this line is a spot of similar 

 tint. The wings of the female are very short, 

 and cut off obliquely at the hind margin, as 

 represented in the lower figure ; these are 

 palish brown, with a darker central baud. 



The EGGS are laid in February, on the 

 trunks and twigs of whitethorn, blackthorn, 

 and less commonly ot oak. 



The CATERPILLARS emerge in April, and, 

 wandering among the twigs, are ready to begin 

 eating as soon as the leaves expand : they 

 grow rapidly, and have attained their full size 

 by the end of May or beginning of June. The 

 full-fed caterpillar generally rests with both 

 feet and claspers attached to the food-plant, 

 and the back arched. The head and body are 

 of nearly equal width, the head not conspi- 

 cuously notched on the crown ; the body 

 velvety and without humps or warts. In 



