NOCTUAS. 



443 



until they disappeared entirely. When full- 

 grown, the caterpillar is "about an inch long, 

 cylindrical, and having the segmental divisions 

 deeply indented ; the claspers are six in 

 number, four ventral and two anal ; the body 

 is thickest at the fourth segment, and when 

 at rest is usually bent in a curve from the 

 middle. The colour is a rich chocolate- 

 brown ; the medio-dorsal stripe is rather 

 darker, but edged with very fine paler lines ; 

 the sub- dorsal stripe is also darker, but very 

 faintly marked ; the spiracular stripe is broad, 

 of a pale yellow, with a fine brown thread 

 running through it ; after the last moult there 

 are some deep yellow and orange spots in it 

 also, but these soon disappear, as do the usual 

 dorsal dots, which at first are black and plainly 

 visible." r 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June, but 

 has only been taken in three of our English 

 counties, and neither in Wales, Scotland, nor 

 Ireland ; the localities are in Cambridgeshire, 

 near Thetford in Norfolk, and near Brandon 

 in Suffolk. (The scientific name is Agrcphila 

 sulpkurdli*.) 



085. The Pale-sbonlder (Acontia dlbicollis). 



G85. THE PALE-SHOULDER. The palpi are 

 porrected, approximate, small, and very in- 

 conspicuous, the terminal conical joints just 

 appearing beneath the frontal tuft; the an- 

 tennfe are simple : the fore wings are straight 

 on the costa, and rounded at the tip, they are 

 creamy-white at the bn.se, and have a square 

 creamy-white spot on the costn, rather beyond 

 the middle ; the basal white area has a black 

 dot near the base of the wing, and a curved 

 -line above it, reminding one of an eye and eye- 

 brow ; the remainder of the wing is rich 

 purple-brown, mottled and marbled with 

 various shades and tints, and having three 



white crescents near the anal angle ; the 

 fringe is long, the apical half brown, the lower 

 half white : the hind wings have the basal 

 area brown, this colour projecting three dif- 

 ferently-shaped lobes into the median area, 

 which, is creamy-white ; the' hind margin is 

 occupied by a broad brown band, the fringe is 

 long and white : the head, thorax, and body 

 are white, the head and neck having the 

 faintest tinge of brown. 



According to M. Guenee, " The caterpillars 

 of the genus Acontia possess but two pairs of 

 claspers ; they are very long and very slender, 

 but rather incrassated towards the posterior 

 extremity ; they are smooth, but the dorsal 

 dots or tubercles are very visible, and each is 

 surmounted by a hair : they feed on low 

 plants, and turn to chrysalids in small earthen 

 cocoons." 



The MOTH on the continent appears in July, 

 flying in the sunshine. I possess one spe- 

 cimen supposed to be British, but know 

 nothing of date or locality. (The scientific 

 name is Acontia albicollis.} 



086. The Four-spotted (Dysthymia hictnosa). 



68 G. THE FOUR-SPOTTED. The palpi are 

 rather long and very slender, the terminal 

 joint being very fine-pointed ; the antennae 

 are simple in both sexes : the fore wings are 

 broad and- ample, the costal margin very 

 straight ; their colour is nearly black, but 

 slightly marbled with other shades ; the orbi- 

 cular is not to be traced ; the reniform, on the 

 contrary, is very large and conspicuous, and it 



