MOTHS 237 



65. Large Skipper (Angiades sylvanus). Light yellow-brown, with blackish 

 shading and marking. 



Food plant Grasses. 



Larva Dark green ; brown head ; darker lines. 



Pupa Grass cocoon ; brown ; curious oval depression on " shoulders." 

 Eggs Whitish ; finely reticulated ; often laid in a line on grass. June 

 to July. 



Locality General. 



66. Silver-spotted Skipper (Angiades comma). Like above, but easily 

 distinguished by greenish under colour and silvery spots. 



Food plant Grasses. 



Larva Olive-green ; lives in a tube of grass spun together. 



Pupa In grass sheath ; olive. 



Eggs White to yellow ; smooth ; slight cup depression on top. August. 



Locality Chalk hills ; generally distributed. 



67. Chequered Skipper (Carter vcephalus pal&mon). Distinguished by plain 

 yellow spots on blackish ground colour. 



Food plant Grasses. 



Larva Light yellow ; living in tube of grasses. 



Pupa In grass cocoon ; light yellow ; beaked head and plainly marked 

 " eyes." 



Eggs Whitish ; smooth ; glossy. May to June. 



Locality Rare ; chiefly woods in Lincoln, Northampton, and Bucking- 

 hamshire. 



BRITISH MOTHS (Heterocera). 



As there are more than 2,000 known species of Moths in Great Britain, it 

 is obvious that they would require a large volume to themselves if they were 

 to be dealt with thoroughly. They are divided into Macrolepidoptera and 

 Microlepidoptera, the latter being by far the most numerous and consisting of the 

 smallest-sized species. The plan adopted in the foUowing pages is to describe 

 each family and some typical species of each family, so that the student may, 

 if he takes the trouble, be able to classify his finds, at least into their proper 

 genus. Moreover, most of the common moths are described in some detail, in 

 the hope that the beginner may be really helped in making his collection. 



As in other sections of this book I have suggested a pocket book as a com- 

 panion, I venture to refer here to my Moths of the Months (is. gd.), in which 

 some 130 species are figured and described under the principal months in which 

 they occur. If this book is taken on moth-collecting rambles, it will be rendered 

 of greater usefulness if it is interleaved with blank pages, on which the notes 

 of other species may be entered when found. 



The chief distinctions between butterflies and moths have already been given 

 on page 218, and need not be rehearsed again ; but whilst the butterflies have 

 the tips of their antennae clubbed, those of moths are not simply without clubs 



