THE SPRING USHER 73 



PLATE XXXVIII 

 THE SPRING USHER (l) 



This very pretty moth is one of the first to 

 make its appearance after the winter is over, 

 for you may see it resting on fences and walls 

 in March, and sometimes even in February. But 

 you may easily pass it by without noticing it, 

 for it is very fond of sitting among splashes of 

 mud, which it resembles so much that you may 

 look straight at it from a distance of only a few 

 feet, without seeing what it really is. It varies 

 in colour almost as much as the magpie moth, 

 for sometimes it is nearly white all over, and 

 sometimes it is nearly black; but generally the 

 wings are greyish-white, with a few narrow black 

 stripes. 



When you see one of these moths, however, 

 you may be quite sure that it is a male ; for the 

 female has no wings at all, and looks just like 

 a little greyish-white grub, with six rather long 

 legs. She lays her eggs on the twigs of oak 

 trees, and the little caterpillars hatch out in May. 

 I cannot describe them, for they are all sorts of 

 different colours, so that you may easily find 

 fifteen or twenty, no two of which are quite alike. 



