186 
WOOD LEOPARD-MOTn. 
adjoining plate is of a sno wy- white : the -wings 
veiy sparingly clothed ^dth scales, and the nervures 
yeUffnish ; the whole surface rather thicMy sprinkled 
with dark-blue spots, which are largest in the 
female. The posterior wings are Avhite at the inner 
angle and verj' faintly spotted at the base, but 
there is a distinct row of spots roimd the hinder 
margin. The abdomen is nearly covered with 
down, of a dark-blue colour. The -wings of the 
male usually expand about two inches, but those of 
the female frequently exceed two inches and three- 
quarters. 
The caterpillar lives in the interior of trees, and 
seems to frequent indiscriminately most of the kinds 
that grow in this coimtry. It is of a light 3'ellow 
colour, with a double series of black spots across 
each segment. The head is strong and wedge- 
shaped, well fitted to work its way through decom- 
posing wood, and the segment immediately suc- 
ceeding it is protected by a’ scaly plate of a black 
colour. (PI. XV. fig. 2 .) Preparatory to its be- 
coming a pupa, it encloses itself in a cell composed 
of triturated particles of wood, cemented by a kind 
of glutinous substance. The moth emerges in 
July. It is by no means of frequent occurrence in 
this country, although it has been found in many 
difierent places. In some seasons it lias been 
noticed rather plentifully in the vicinity of London, 
also in Cambridge, Norfolk, Surrey, Essex, &c. 
