450 IN.-ECTS AT HOME, 



On Plate XVI. Fig. 4, is shown one of the prettiest of thf 

 (xeometras, the Largk Emeuald {Geometra papilionaria), be- 

 lonjrine: to the family of the Greomotridae. 



There is little need to describe the colouring of this beauti- 

 ful jNIoth, further than to say that the wings are rather pale 

 leaf-green, and the scalloped markings and dots are white. 

 The head and thorax are green, and the body is greyish-white. 

 The sexes can be distinguished by the antennjB, those of the 

 male being feathered, and those of the female, as shown in the 

 illustration, simple and thread-like. Both the antennaj and 

 the fore legs are whitish. The name papilionaria is given to 

 it because it has a sort of butterfly appearance about it. 

 This is a tolerably common Moth, and is mostly found in woods 

 and copses, where it cau be taken by beating the bushes. The 

 caterpillar is green, like the perfect insect, and has many 

 humps. It feeds chiefly on the hazel, but may be fovmd on 

 other trees. 



Passing, of necessity, over many of tbe Geometrae, we come 

 to that very familiar insect, the Currant Moth {Abraxas 

 groesulariata), which is shown on Plate XVI, Fig. 5. In con- 

 sequence of its boldly contrasted markings, it is sometimes 

 called the Magpie iMoTii. 



This is invariably one of the first Moths of the young 

 collector's cabinet, and its larva is perhaps the best known of 

 the Greometrge. 



The colour of the wings is white, with a yellow patch at the 

 base of the upper wings, and a rather curved band of a similar 

 colour rather beyond the middle. Upon both wings are a 

 number of deep black spots and blotches, varying greatly in 

 different specimens. Sometimes the black spots are so large 

 that they unite with each other, and make the Moth look as if 

 it were black and yellow. Sometimes the reverse takes place, 

 and the insect is almost entirely white and yellow, with a 

 few pale and uncertain markings of a darker colour, while in 

 many specimens there is a decided preponderance either of the 

 light or the dark portions of the wings. The antennae of the 

 female are thread-like, and those of the male very slightly, 

 but decidedly, feathered. 



This Moth is one of the partial day-fliers, and may be cap- 

 tured in any numbers in gardens where the gooseberry or black- 



