THE YELLOW SHELL 77 



PLATE XL 

 THE YELLOW SHELL (2) 



I really think that this moth is even commoner 

 than the "garden carpet." From the beginning 

 of June till the middle of August you can hardly 

 go into the garden without seeing it. If you 

 look at a fence or a tree-trunk, there it is sure 

 to be resting with outspread wings. If you 

 shake a bush or a low plant, or the leaves of a 

 creeper growing upon a wall, it is certain to 

 fly out. And soon after sunset on any warm 

 evening you may see it flying about in scores, 

 or even in hundreds. 



But although the moth is so very plentiful, 

 one hardly ever sees the caterpillar. The reason 

 is that it only feeds by night, and hides away 

 all day long under stones, or beneath small clods 

 of earth, or at the roots of grass. But if you 

 were to go out with a lantern on a mild evening 

 towards the end of April, and search carefully 

 on the grass-stems, you would be able to find 

 it without any difficulty at all. It is dull green 

 in colour, with a darker stripe along the back, 

 and two white ones on each side; and under- 

 neath its body it generally has a number of 

 rose-coloured or violet spots. 



