INSECTS. 
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and September on the spines of the Scotch fir. One of the most familiar of the 
British loopers is the magpie-moth (Abraxas grossulariata), which at times makes 
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GROUP OF LOOPERS, 
mottled umber— 1, Male ; 2, Female ; 3, Larva, scarce umber— 4, Male; 5, Female, winter moth— 6, Male ; 
7, Female; 8, Larva. (Nat. size.) 
its appearance in great numbers. The perfect insect is prettily mottled with white 
and black, and on this account is called in Germany the harlequin-moth. Another 
species, the scarce or clouded magpie ( A . ulmata), is more abundant in the Midland 
bordered white— 1, Male ; 2, Female, with larva; 3, argent and sable, with larva. (Nat. size.) 
counties of England than the common magpie, though less so in the south. Of the 
common species the larva feeds on the gooseberry and black-currant, doing consider¬ 
able damage at times. It is one of the most strikingly marked of the geometric 
