528 IXSKOTS AT IIOMK. 



called Adadyla, or Agdistes J3ennet'ii, which has scarcely the 

 least appearance of belonging- to this group of Moths, the 

 ■wings not being divided at all. The popular name of tliit^ 

 jNIolh is the Plumeless Plume. It is found on our coa=ts. 

 the. caterpillar feeding upon sea-loving plants, such as the 

 Lavender Thrift {Statice Ihnoniwin). Both pairs of wings of 

 this insect are very long, sleixder, and sharply pointed. The 

 upper pair are yellowish-brown with a few small black spots, 

 and the under pair simply pale brown. 



The commonest and one of tlie prettiest of the Plume 

 Moths is shown on Plate XVII. Fig. 5. It is popularly known 

 as the Large White Plume, the Skeleton, or the Phantom, all 

 names being perfectly ai^propriate. Its scientific name is 

 PterophoriLS pentadactylus. 



This ver}'- beautiful though simply coloured insect has the 

 wings pure snowy-white, and divided into separate plumes, as 

 shown in the illustration. In all cases the feathering of the 

 plumes is much wider on the inner than the outer side of the 

 nervure, very much like the structure of an ordinary bird's 

 i^eather. If the wings be examined with the microscope, it 

 will be seen that the long fringes which form the feathering- 

 are composed of the ordinary scales which cover the wings of 

 the Lepidoptei'a, such scale being drawn out to a great length. 

 Indeed, length of scale is one of the leading characteristics of 

 these Moths, and the scales which clothe the base of the wings 

 are also remarkable for their length. When viewed by a 

 side light, these plumes have a satiny lustre, which quite dis- 

 appears when they are viewed through a magnifying-glass, so 

 as to render each of the delicate filaments visible. 



The Moth conceals itself during the day, making its appear- 

 ance at dusk, when it flutters about like a snow-flake driven at 

 random by the wind. It never makes a long flight, but if 

 disturbed in one spot, just flits a yard or two and again settles 

 on some leaf, where its white, outstretched, though not outspread 

 wings render it- very conspicuous when at rest. It never folds 

 its wings to its body as do so many Moths, but remains with 

 them stretched on either side to their very fullest extent, as if 

 actually courting observation. 



