NOCTUAS. 



239 



The Lesser Satin Moth (Cijniataplwra duplaris). 



114. THE LESSER SATIX MOTH. The an- 

 tennae are slender in both sexes and almost 

 simple, hut slightly stouter in the male than 

 in the female ; in both sexes they havo a very 

 short pubescence : the fore wings are nearly 

 straight along the costa and square-tipped, 

 they are very ample compared with the size 

 of the body ; their colour is smoky-gray trans- 

 versely marked with different shades of the 

 same colour ; the basal area is pale, bounded 

 by an almost white line ; the middle area is 

 dark smoke-coloured, taking the form of a 

 broad median band, on the exterior margin of 

 which are two sub-linear black marks, which, 

 perhaps, represent the orbicular discoidal spot ; 

 then follows a paler band and then a smoky 

 hind-marginal area, which is traversed through- 

 out Hy a zigzag white line : the hind wings 

 are dingy gray with a paler transverse median 

 ir : the head and thorax are smoky gray ; 

 body, which is very slender, almost like 

 it of a Geometer, palo gray. 

 ?he CATERPILLAR resides between two leaves 

 birch (Betula alba], carefully fastened to- 

 ther with silken cords ; I found that instead 

 of eating the leaves it used for a domicile, it 

 left them by night and ate other leaves in the 

 neighbourhood ; when ejected from its dwell- 

 ing-place by day, it usually retreated back- 

 wards and invariably hung by a thread ; no 

 persecution could induce it to roll in a ring or 

 feign death ; but when on the carpet or table- 

 cloth it crawled to some place of concealment 

 with restless and unceasing activity, these 

 characters, which it possesses in common with 

 several species which follow, have reminded 

 me of those of the Tortrices. The head is 

 slightly narrower than the second segment; the 

 crown gibbose and very shining ; the body is 

 slightly depressed dorsally and flat ventrally : 



the colour of the head is pale brown across the 

 middle of the face, ar.d has a black space be- 

 tween the lobes of the crown, and a black 

 spot on each side of the mouth ; the dorsal 

 area of the body is occupied almost exclusively 

 by a very broad bluish smoke-coloured stripe, 

 within which, on each lateral margin, is a 

 series of Avhite marks, two on each segment ; 

 the lateral area is whitish, slightly mottled 

 with smoke-colour; the belly, legs, andclaspers, 

 are dingy whitish -green. 



The MOTH appears on the wing about mid- 

 summer, and has occurred in most of our 

 English counties : Mr. Birchall informs us 

 that he has taken it at Killarney, in Ireland. 

 (The scientific name is Cymatophora duplarift.} 



415. The Satin Carpet (Cymatophora jltictuosa). 



415. THE SATIX CARPET. The antennae 

 are slender and very slightly pubescent in 

 both sexes ; they are rather stouter in the 

 males ; the fore wings are very ample, nearly 

 straight on the costa, and bluntly square at 

 the tip ; their colour is pale gray at the base, 

 traversed always by one, sometimes by more, 

 waved transverse; lines ; the middle area is 

 occupied by a broad smoky band ; this is 

 followed by a pale gray, almost white, band, 

 traversed by darker lines, the exterior of 

 which dilates and deepens into a costal 

 blotch ; the hind-marginal area is smoky 

 gray ; the hind wings are pale gray, almost 

 white ; the head and thorax are smoke- 

 coloured, the body smoky gray. 



The CATERPILLAR resides between two leaves 

 of the birch (Hctula alba] when young ; when 

 older, it uses more leaves than two for the 

 purpose of a domicile, and in this always 

 remains concealed during the day, feeding by 

 night only ; it has a great propensity to fall, 



