til) 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



and Scotland, and in the county Dublin, in 

 Ireland. (The scientific name is Larentin 

 mult i sir i gat a.} 



242. The Mottled Gray (Liraitia mnltislrir/ata). 



242. THE MOTTLED GRAY. The antenna) 

 are slightly pubescent in the male, quite sim- 

 ple in the female ; male much larger than the 

 female : the wings in both sexes ample ; fore 

 wings gray, transversely barred with darker 

 gray; sometimes the ground colour has an 

 ochreous tinge ; the transverse markings are 

 irregular, waved, and interrupted, and rather 

 like series of dots than consecutive lines ; the 

 hind wings are pale gray, tran-sversely marked 

 with dark but indistinct waved lines towards 

 the hind margin. 



The EGG is laid in April, on the different 

 species of lady's bedstraw, but feeds freely on 

 sweet woodroof in confinement ; it rests in a 

 nearly straight or slightly arched position, the 

 feet as well as the claspers generally attached, 

 and the head prone and tucked under. The 

 head is as wide as the second segment, and 

 not notched on the crown ; the body is uni- 

 formly cylindrical, the segmental divisions 

 well marked, and the lateral skinfold rather 

 prominent. The colour of the head and body 

 is gray-brown, occasionally tinted with pink 

 or yellow ; a narrow medio-dorsal clearly-de- 

 fined darker stripe runs from the second 

 segment to the tip of the anal flap; three 

 broader, less regular, and less clearly-defined 

 stripes run along the sides parallel with the 

 medio-dorsal stripe, and between this and the 

 spiracles ; ventral surface paler than the dor- 

 sal surface, and having an extremely slender 

 and delicate medio-ventral stripe ; and between 

 this and the spiracles are three other stripes, 

 all of which are waved, and that nearest the 

 medio-ventral is double ; the spiracles are 

 intensely black ; in addition to the stripes are 

 numerous extremely small warts, darker than 

 the general surface, and each emitting a 

 minute bristle. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in carly 

 spring, and is found in most parts of England 



243. The Gray Mountain Carpet (Larcntia e&xintif). 



243. THE GRAY MOUNTAIN CARPET. The 

 antennae are almost simple ; the fore wings 

 gray with numerous darker transverse zigzag 

 markings ; across the middle of the wings 

 . these darker markings form a transverse 

 median bar, the costal extremity of which is 

 divided, and encloses a gray space, which con- 

 tains an oblong central dark spot ; the hind 

 wings are very pale, with an oblong dark spot 

 above the middle, and three transverse waved 

 lines towards the hind margin. 



The EGG is laid on the slender stalks of the 

 wort, whortleberry, or bilberry (Vaccinium 

 Vitis-ldcBa), in July and August, and the 

 young CATERPILLAR emerges in about twelve 

 days, but soon hybernates on the surface of the 

 earth, at the roots of the food-plant ; it begins 

 to feed again in April of the ensuing year, and 

 is full-fed by the second week in May ; it 

 then rests on the stalk of its food-plant by 

 day, generally with the head downwards, and 

 in a perfectly straight position ; on the ap- 

 proach of evening it turns round, re-ascends 

 the stalk, and feeds on the leaves during 

 the night. When full grown the head is 

 prone, scarcely so wide as the second seg- 

 ment, and without any manifest notch on 

 the crown ; the body is of uniform substance 

 throughout, and having a perceptible lateral 

 skinfold along the region of the spiracles ; 

 each segment has a few small warts, and each 

 wart emits a short and feeble bristle. The 

 colour of the head is umber-brown, in some 

 specimens inclining to red ; the body is velvety 

 red-brown, or velvety olive-green ; in both 

 varieties there is a series of medio-dorsal 

 V-shaped markings of great beauty, these 



