Marsh. 225 



thought hastens our footsteps, though first a lovely flower, 

 then a gorgeous dragon-fly, tempts us to stay. But even the 

 chaff-bed is forgotten by the side of a thick bed of reeds, 

 as we commence investigating a number of them which are 

 affected by the larva of one of the Wainscot moths. Almost 

 every other reed has the central leaf dead and yellow, and 

 as we pull these, one after another, from their watery home 

 and open them, the dirty white caterpillar of Nonagria 

 geminipuncta comes tumbling out. Geminipuncta means 

 "" twin-spot," and the moth is so-called because it usually has 

 two white spots on each of its fore-wings. And there, low 

 down on this reed, a little round spot shows where a cater- 

 pillar has left a thin layer on the outside skin of the reed, 

 and formed a cosy little cocoon inside, in which it has 

 changed to a bright brown chrysalis. It knows very well 

 that it cannot get out when it changes to a moth, because, 

 Laving no jaws, it cannot eat its way through the thick 

 reed stem, and so, before it loses its jaws, before it pupates, 

 it gnaws a hole, only leaving the finest film of outside skin ; 

 then, when the moth emerges, it presses its head against 

 this fragile spot, and a fluid coming from two little glands 

 on the top of the head softens the skin, and the moth readily 

 escapes ; so that the thin film is easily overcome, although 

 the moth has no jaws. 



Dusk is rapidly falling ; other pale Wainscot moths are 

 already on the w r ing. The Ghost moth, with pendulous 

 motion and delightful scent, is wooing his mate. We are 

 .nearly at one of those copses. Hist ! We are in truth in 

 luck's way ! I don't know how many years it is since I 

 last saw the otter at large. Oh, yes ! it saw us before we ob- 

 served it, and there it goes creeping stealthily to the water. 



Q 



