NOCTUAS. 



251 



427. The Miller (Acronycta leporina}. 



427. THE MILLER. The antennae are simple, 

 but rather stout ; the fore wings are gray, 

 with three principal black spots on the costa, 

 the middle one of which descends in an elon- 

 ate linear form towards the middle of the 

 ing, which it almost reaches ; beyond the 

 bird black costal spot is a transverse zigzag 

 oblique black line ; the fringe is very distinctly 

 potted : the hind wings are nearly white, 

 pith a marginal series of black dots : the 

 head, thorax, and body are gray. 



The CATERPILLAR, when disturbed, falls off 

 its food plant, and for a short time feigns 

 death, lying in a semicircular posture ; but its 

 outline is concealed by the length of its hairs : 

 its colour is pale delicate green, completely 

 covered with long curved silky hairs, all of 

 them directed backwards ; these hairs are 

 either hoary white, or delicate pale canary- 

 colour, or more decidedly yellow, and the 

 body has a tendency to similar variation in 

 colour, although its normal tint is green : 

 there are small erect fascicles of short black 

 hairs on the back of the fourth and sixth 

 segments, and single erect black hairs in a 

 row on both sides. It feeds on birch (Betula 

 alla\ and is full-fed towards the end of 

 September, when, concealing itself in a crevice 



of the bark, it makes a little excavation, in 

 which it changes to a CHRYSALIS, and remains 

 in that state all the winter. In confinement, 

 it will gnaw a hole in cork, or touch-wood, 

 about the circumference of its body, and after 

 entering, gum up the mouth of the hole, so 

 that its ulterior proceedings are completely 

 concealed ; but in this retreat it changes to a 

 CHRYSALIS, and remains in that state through- 

 out the winter. 



The MOTH appears in June, and occurs 

 occasionally in all our English counties, but 

 is always considered a rarity. Mr. Birchall 

 reports it as common in the counties Wick- 

 low and Kerry, in Ireland. (The scientific 

 name is Acronycta leporina,.} 



Obs. Two supposed species represented 

 by the first and second figures, are here in- 

 cluded under the name Leporina : these are 

 A. leporina of Stephens (Illustrations of British 

 Entomology, Haustellata, vol. iii. p. 35), and 

 A. bradyporina of Stephens (Id. vol. iii. p. 36) ; 

 the third figure represents a beautiful variety 

 in the rich collection of Mr. Bond, which has 

 been lent me expressly for this work. 



428. The Sycamore (Acronycta Aceris}. 



428. THE SYCAMORE. The antennas are 

 rather stout, but simple in both sexes ; the 

 fore wings have the costal margin straight, 

 the hind margin very slightly scalloped ; their 

 colour is pale gray, streaked and mottled with 

 smoky gray ; the orbicular spot is clearly 

 defined, the reniform more vague, and con- 

 fused with the other markings ; there is a 



