290 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



and ascending, very close together, and rather 

 appressed to the face than porrected ; the 

 terminal joint is pointed ; the antennse are 

 simple or nearly so in both sexes, those of the 

 male are very slightly ciliated, and thus have 

 an appearance of being rather stouter than 

 those of the female : the fore wings have the 

 basal portion nearly straight, the apical portion 

 slightly arched, the tip blunt, and the hind 

 margin slightly waved ; their colour is gray- 

 brown, with fulvous, pale gray, and dark 

 brown markings ; the orbicular has a fulvous 

 area, with whitish border and a dark brown 

 surrounding ; between this and the base of the 

 wing is a club-shaped mark with the same 

 colouring, that is, the median area is fulvous, 

 with white borders and dark surroundings ; 

 the reniform is dull fulvous, approaching to 

 smoky-brown, but still having small portions 

 of pure fulvous ; it has pale borders ; beyond 

 the reniform is an interrupted zigzag line pale 

 gray, almost white, and in spots pure white, 

 but bordered interiorly with very dark brown; 

 midway between this and the hind margin is 

 a second pale line, very slender and zigzag ; 

 the costal margin is distinctly spotted, the 

 pale gray and dark brown tints alternating 

 with some regularity ; on. the hind margin are 

 six crescentic spots very dark coloured, but 

 bordered with pale gray on the interior side ; 

 there are other dark and pale markings on the 

 disk and inner margin of the wing : the hind 

 wings are very pale, semi-transparent, and 

 slightly iridescent, the wing-rays and hind 

 margin being decidedly darker ; the outline of 

 the hind wings is irregular and the fringe 

 very long : the head, thorax, and body are of 

 the same colour as the fore wings ; the legs 

 are sparingly clothed with scales, and of a 

 pale gray colour with black rings. 



At the meeting of the Entomological Society 

 held on the 2nd March, 1859, Dr. Wallace, 

 who took the female moth in the ]sle of 

 Wight, exhibited specimens which he had 

 reared from the egg, and read the following- 

 description of the CATERPILLAR : " Pinkish- 

 brown on the back, pinkish-yellow beneath ; a 

 row of black dots down the back ; two rows 

 on each side, between which are the white 



spiracles on rather a darker ground than that 

 outside the rows of black spots ; head and tail 

 greenish ; length when full-grown about 

 inch : it feeds on plantain, remaining during 

 the day rolled up in the leaves or roots : the 

 EGGS were laid about the 18th July, am 

 hatched in about three weeks ; the caterpillar 

 were full-fed about the 12th of September, 

 and the moths exhibited emerged about the 

 20th of October. 



This very rare little Noctua was first taken 

 at sugar at Yentnor, by Mr. A. Maitland, 

 about eighteen years ago, and next by Mr. H. 

 Cooke, near Brighton ; after that near Worth- 

 ing; and then three or four specimens by 

 Dr. Wallace at Bembridge, in the Isle of 

 Wight ; three by Mr. Bond at Freshwater ; 

 and one or two by Mr. Rogers in the same 

 locality; and, lastly, one by Mr. Fenn at 

 Lewisham, near London. I am indebted 

 Mr. Bond for this list of localities, as well 

 for the loan of the moth to figure. (The 

 scientific name is Laphygma exigua.) 



485. The Bordered Gothic (Neuria Saponarice). 



485. THE BORDERED GOTHIC. The palpi 

 are slightly porrected in front of the head, 

 the basal joints are very hairy, the terminal 

 joint is short, naked, and truncate at the ex- 

 tremity ; the antennae are slightly ciliated in 

 both sexes, but most so in the male ; the eyes 

 are very hairy ; the fore wings have the costa 

 straight, the tip blunt, the hind margin 

 slightly scalloped ; their colour is rich umber- 

 brown, with very decided darker and lighter 

 markings, the darker markings are almost 

 black, the light ones pale wainscot-brown ; 

 the orbicular spot has a pale outline, the reni- 

 form a pale outline, and a pale central line ; 

 all the wing-rays are pale except a portion of 

 each of the parallel rays near the hind margin ; 

 there are four pale transverse lines : the first 



