68 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



tastes different to those of the other sex; 

 and it would not only be that additional 

 workers would be gained, but they would 

 be workers in another way — workers almost 

 of another kind. New lines of thought would 

 be struck out; new discoveries made; while 

 their quicker perception, their more delicate 

 manipulation, and other essentially feminine 

 qualities would add to the advantages. If 

 this reasoning be correct, and the presence 

 of females would be an advantage to the 

 society as well as to themselves, can nothing 

 be done to meet the case ? The subscription 

 to such societies is only what is needed for 

 necessary working expenses, and if the 

 membership could be increased the sub- 

 scription might be reduced. The admission, 

 therefore, of a fresh class of members, 

 necessarily adding to the numbers, might 

 advantageously be made at a greatly reduced 

 subscription. This would help. Many a 

 working man could not afford to pay the 

 usual subscription for several members of 

 his family, but if he could introduce his 

 wife or daughter for a nominal payment, he 

 would gladly do so if an effort was made to 

 introduce females. Then when they are 

 once admitted there should be some means 

 of transferring members to other societies 

 when they were obliged to change their 

 residences. A man may make himself 

 known, but the more retiring nature of a 

 woman would prevent her doing so unless 

 there was some formal mode of doing it by 

 transfer of membership, or even a letter of 

 introduction would be better than nothing. 

 If by these or similar means ladies could be 

 induced to take more interest in our pur- 

 suits, we might then naturally expect the 

 child to follow the training it would receive 

 from both parents. If our wives and 

 mothers joined us and helped us in our 

 pursuit, the interest even for ourselves 

 would be greatly enhanced, and the state of 

 things we so much deplore would be of 

 much less frequent occurrence. 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



By John E. Robson. 

 PHIGALIA PILOSARIA. 

 The Pale Brindled Beauty. 



Phigalia PILOSARIA is One of the earliest 

 Lepidoptera to emerge in the new year, and 

 in mild open seasons it has been taken as 

 early as the first week in January, in shel- 

 tered localities ; while in years when the 

 weather has been severe, and the place of 

 occurence exposed, as in Upper Teesdale in 

 this county of Durham, it may not appear 

 till April. Like so many of the winter 

 moths the female is wingless, and both sexes 

 sit on the trunks of trees, where they are 

 very difficult to see, as the grey mottled 

 markings correspond well in colour with 

 either bark or lichens growing thereon. It 

 is taken sometimes by hedgerows, and 

 the male occasionally comes to light. It 

 is a common species, and appears to be 

 generally distributed in the North, but to 

 be much more restricted in the South, and 

 scarcer where it does occur. It was figured 

 on plate I. of the last volume, and being the 

 largest of the winter moths it is very easily 

 recognised. The female could only be con- 

 founded with that oiNyssia Mspidariay these 

 two being larger than any others of the 

 wingless females. They may, however, be 

 easily separated, hispidaria being darker in 

 colour; having small stumps of wings, 

 which are entirely wanting in pilosaria / 

 and having the tibiae hairy — a very striking 

 characteristic. 



'• PiLOSARiA, W.V., Pilosa'ria, pilosus — 

 hairy." — A.L. 



Imago. — Male, greenish grey, with four 

 darker wavy bands, more or less distinct, 

 and never well defined at the edges. The 

 hind wing have two similar bands ; It ex- 

 pands nearly two inches. Female, pale grey 

 with darker bands, head very pale grey ; 

 no wings. 



