54 MOTHS 



PLATE XXVIII 

 THE WHITE ERMINE (3) 



In most parts of the British Islands this is a 

 very common moth indeed. You may see it rest- 

 ing by day on fences and the trunks of trees, 

 and after dark it will often come flying into a 

 lighted room. Or you may notice it darting 

 round and round street-lamps by night, and 

 doing its very best to burn itself in the dazzling 

 flame. And the caterpillar is even commoner in 

 gardens than that of the "tiger" moth. It is 

 really a sort of small "woolly bear," for its body 

 is covered all over with brown hairs. But you 

 can. always tell it from the real "woolly bear" 

 by the pale line which runs along the middle of 

 its back. It will feed on almost any plant in 

 the garden, and is fully grown about the middle 

 of September, when it spins a silken cocoon, 

 and turns into a dark brown chrysalis. The 

 moth appears in June. 



There is another kind of "ermine" moth, called 

 the "buff ermine," which is brownish-yellow in 

 colour instead of white. The caterpillar is dingy 

 white, with one white line and two dark ones 

 running along its back, and is covered with 

 pale brown hairs. You may often find it feeding 

 upon dock leaves. The moth is quite as common 

 as the White Ermine, and makes its appearance 

 at the same time of the year. 



