448 INSECTS AT JIO.ME. 



stripes, which run from the upper to the lower margin. Tliesc 

 stripes are very clear and well-defined, but besides there are a 

 vast number of very tiny streaks of a similar colour, which 

 look as if they had been drawn in water-colours with the very 

 finest of brushes, and then damped so as to blur their edges. 

 The bind wings have only one streak, which runs obliquely 

 towards the anal angle, and, when the wings are spread, looks 

 as if it were a continuation of the first stripe on the upper 

 wings. The shape of the Moth almost exactly resembles that 

 of the Brimstone Butterfly, described on page 393. 



The larva affords an admirable example of the twig-resem- 

 bling caterpillars. It is exceedingly variable in colour, but is 

 always some shade of brown. It has seven bud-like humps, 

 and a few pale stripes along the sides. It is a very general 

 feeder, and may be found on a considerable number of trees 

 and plants. It is quite common, and ))ut for its curious 

 form would certainly be found much more frequently than is 

 the case. The perfect insect appears about July, and can be 

 beaten out of bushes and hedges. Though the wings are large, 

 they are thin and not very powerful, so that there is no diffi- 

 culty in capturing the insect. 



Next comes the family of the Ennomidas, popularly called 

 the Thorns, containing nearly thirty species, two of which we 

 will select for examination. In this family the hind wings 

 are not tailed. Our first example is the Brimstone Moth 

 {Rumia cratccgata), which is shown on Woodcut XLVIII. 

 Fig. 3. 



This very plentiful Moth is of a bright sulphur yellow, with 

 a few irregular streaks, and several ruddy chestnut spots on the 

 edge of the upper wings. 



The caterpillar has three humps, and possesses four pairs of 

 claspers instead of two. The first and second pairs are, how- 

 ever, not used for progression. This larva is shown at Fig. b, 

 and gives a good idea of the general aspect of a Geometra 

 larva when the body is stretched out at full length. It feeds 

 both on the blackthorn and whitethorn, and when full-fed 

 spins a thick cocoon close to the ground, and sometimes on it. 

 The Moth may be found througliout the summer, as may the 

 caterpillar. 



