THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



179 



wings. The white Melanippe hastata, with 

 its pretty jet black markings, may also be 

 taken by northern entomologists in the 

 neighbourhood of birch-trees. Another spe- 

 cies to be looked out for in June and July 

 by collectors in the north is Coremia minu- 

 taria. It is readily distinguished from its 

 allies by the narrow central band and grey 

 streak at the tip of each of the forewings, 

 and by the absence of a reddish tinge on 

 the hind margin. The prettily-marked 

 Carsia imbutata also occurs now on the 

 northern moors. It is pale grey, with four 

 blackish streaks across each fore wing, the 

 two nearest the edge being a good deal 

 angulated. Epione vespertaria, with its pur- 

 ple-edged yellow wings ; the handsome 

 Lilac Beauty (Pericallia syringaria), with its 

 wings tinted with shades of yellow, red, and 

 greenish grey, and marked with pale, flesh- 

 coloured lines ; the dark grey Gnophos obscu- 

 rata ; the grey Aventia flexula, with its sharp- 

 ly angulated fore wings and double central 

 spot enclosed between two yellow lines, 

 each of which are parallel and go straight 

 across the wing, except near the costal mar- 

 gin, where they make a sharp bend ; the 

 slaty-grey Macaria liturata (to be looked for 

 in the neighbourhood of fir-trees) ; and the 

 brownish, day-flying Eupithecia pygmeata are 

 all species of general distribution. The last 

 named, however, cannot be met with later 

 than the early part of July — June is the best 

 time to look out for it. 



Among the southern moths, mention may 

 be made of the pretty Blotched Emerald 

 (Phorodesma bajularia), with its green wings, 

 pink spotted at the anal angle ; it occurs in 

 oak woods. Geometra smaragdaria occurs on 

 the Essex coast ; it is green, with ochreous 

 costa and a white central spot. The second 

 brood of Eupithecia pimpinellata comes out 

 towards the end of the month. It is grey, 

 with two conspicuous white spots on both 

 fore and hind wings ; the thorax is snowy 

 white. It should be looked for in the south- 



ern counties in places where the Burnet 

 Saxifrage (Pimpinella saxifraga) grows. The 

 beautiful Peach-blossom Moth (Thyatira 

 batis), with its ochreous brown, pink-spotted 

 fore wings, and the Buff arches moth, both 

 fly in July. They seem to occur in all parts 

 of the country, although far from common. 

 In localities where the Yellow Flag (Iris 

 pseudacovus) grows, the pale brown Apamea 

 fibrosa, should be looked for at sugar and 

 light. It has whitish reniform stigmata and 

 also whitish veins ; the hind margin of the 

 fore wings is of a darker brown than the 

 rest of the wing. 



Northerners should sugar for the bluish 

 grey Apamea, connexa with its two black 

 streaks from the base of each fore wing. In 

 size it expands about an inch and a quarter. 

 The diminutive Miana expolita, with its 

 greyish brown, rather reddish wings ; the 

 reddish brown Celcena Harvorthii, with its 

 conspicuous white reniform stigmata, so 

 common on heaths and moors from July to 

 September ; the greyish ochreous Agrotis 

 cwsoria, about the same size as Agrotis ex- 

 clamationis, with white-margined stigmata 

 — the lower half of the reniform stigma of a 

 dark grey shade — and whitish hind wings, 

 veined and margined with pale grey, to be 

 looked for where spurge grows ; and the 

 greenish grey Agrotis lucemea, about the 

 same size, with lines marked with darker 

 shade of grey and scarcely perceptible stig- 

 mata, are other northern insects. 



The greyish ochreous Agrotis ripa, with 

 brownish reniform stigmata, flies in July in 

 the lake district, whilst the greenish grey, 

 lichen-like BryopMla glandifera occurs in 

 the south, and Zeucania littoralis should be 

 looked for on sandhills on the southern and 

 western coast. In colour the fore wings are 

 pale ochreous, with a conspicuous white 

 streak running straight across the wing, 

 from the base to the hind margin, and pass- 

 ing through the centre of the wing. The 



