TWENTY-PLUMB MOTH. 151 



him, kills the creature instantly ; for it holds life on 

 very slender tenure. The slender entomological pin 

 can then be passed through the thorax, while the net 

 is still closed, and thus the head of the pin can be 

 drawn through the meshes of the net when it is 

 opened. 



In this way the moth may be preserved without 

 the least injury to its appearance, or without ruffling 

 the vanes of one of its beautiful plumes. 



Of all the plume moths this is the largest, as a fine 

 specimen will sometimes measure more than an inch 

 across the wings. There is a brown species, nearly 

 as large, and quite as common ; but which is often 

 overlooked on account of its sober colouring ; and 

 as often mistaken for a common " daddy-long-legs," 

 to which fly it bears a close resemblance. 



The Twenty-plume Moth (plate C, fig. 9) is hardly 

 named as it deserves ; for as the wings on each side 

 are divided into twelve plumes, it ought to be named 

 the twenty-four plume. A better title is that of the 

 " Many-plume Moth ". 



It is very much smaller than either of the pre- 

 ceding "plumes"; and its radiating feathers are so 

 small and so numerous, that at a hasty glance it 

 scarcely seems to present any remarkable structure. 

 It must be examined with the aid of a magnifying 

 glass before its real beauty can be distinguished. 



The moth is common enough, and may be easily 

 caught, as it has a strange liking for civilised society, 



