59 



committed by the caterpillar, yet I had not observed it pre- 

 viously, and my large collection contained no specimens till the 

 present inquiry was taken up. 



Its length of body is about six millimetres, the span of the 

 wings is 15'5 m.m. for the female ; the male is a trifle smaller. 

 The colour of the whole insect is a brownish-grey, in various 

 shades ; the face of the head is almost white ; the eyes large, 

 dark brown or black ; the maxillae are very large in proportion, 

 being longer than the head, the middle joint of the three being 

 beset with close hairs like a brush ; the antennae are very long 

 and slender, equalling nearly in length that of the whole body ; 

 the joints very numerous and small, in the upper part showing 

 a minute spinous projection. The anterior wings are straight, 

 narrow, rounded at the end. The inner margin near the base is 

 smooth for about three-fifths of the length, the last two-fifths 

 furnished with long fringing hairs, longest inferiorly; the 

 colour in the female is light brownish-grey, mottled with very 

 minute black and white specks, forming very indistinct bars. 

 The colour of the anterior wings of the male is a rather clearer 

 brown, the black mottlings forming a semicircle along the 

 inner margin, and a kind of a very small eyespot at the very 

 end. 



The posterior wings of both sexes are perfectly alike, the 

 membranous portion being of about the same width as the 

 former, but about one-fourth less in length ; colour brilliant 

 silvery bluish- white ; this is fringed from the extremity to the 

 base posteriorly with long silky brownish hairs, exceeding in 

 length at the widest part the width of wing considerably, and so 

 arranged as to form a semicircle. The three pairs of legs are 

 all unequal ; the first pair are the shortest, and not armed with 

 spines, or very minute ones only ; the last pair is the longest, 

 exceeding the length of the body considerably, the shank or 

 tibia armed with four strong spines below, and set with long, 

 close, stiff hairs above ; the medial legs are intermediate in 

 size, the spines reduced and the hairs wanting ; the colour of 

 the legs is nearly white, dotted sparingly with brown and black ; 

 the claws very minute. The same colour prevails over all the 

 underside of the abdomen ; the upper is darker than the rest, 

 a tuft of light orange hue at the extremity of that of the female 

 distinguishes the sex easily. "Whether the moths take any food 

 I have not been able to ascertain, but it seems so, as they con- 

 tinued alive in the breeding box for two to three weeks before 

 dying. In that case they must partake of the same food as their 

 immature progeny. 



That these moths occur in other situations less confined than 

 the entomologist's hatching case was gleaned latterly from the 

 information a farmer gave me when speaking about the subject. 



