In its typical form as depicted on Plate [110], Fig. 4, this species is slaty grey with black markings. In Devonshire and other parts of the west of England, and also in Ireland, it assumes a decided pinkish tinge (var. rosea, Tutt). Through Scotland the colour becomes darker grey, and in Perthshire it merges into blackish grey. In the Shetlands a blackish, or sooty-brown form (var. edda, Staud.), occurs.
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| Pl. 112. |
| 1. | Ingrailed Clay: caterpillar. |
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| 2. | Purple Clay: caterpillar. |
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| 3, 3a. | Square-spot Rustic: caterpillar. |
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| Pl. 113. |
| 1. | Double Square-spot. | 2. | Square-spotted Clay. |
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| 3, 4. | Purple Clay. | 5, 6, 7. | Ingrailed Clay. |
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| 8, 9. | Ingrailed Clay, var. conflua. | 10, 11. | Ingrailed Clay, var. thulei. |
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The caterpillar feeds on grasses and various low plants, also on ling, heath, sallow, and has been found on wild hyacinth. It is yellowish-brown with dark shaded pale lines on the back, and a dark brown stripe on the sides; spiracles and dots blackish. October to June. The moth flies in August and September, and affects heathy places, borders of woods, etc., throughout the British Isles, including the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetlands. Except in the New Forest, Hampshire, it does not seem to be common in the southern counties of England; it occurs in Epping Forest, and in other parts of the eastern counties; northwards it becomes more generally distributed and more plentiful.
The Neglected, or Grey Rustic (Noctua castanea).
The reddish typical form of this species is shown on Plate [110], Fig. 3. Fig. 2 represents the greyish form, var. neglecta, which is most frequently met with in southern England. Between these extremes intermediate forms occur connecting one with the other. Specimens of a pale ochreous colour have been obtained in the vicinity of Market Drayton, Shropshire. The caterpillar, which feeds on heather and sallow at night, is pale reddish-brown, finely powdered with greyish; below the pale ochreous stripe on the sides, the ground colour is greenish; head marked with darker brown. September to May. The moth flies in August, and occurs on the larger tracts of heathery ground throughout the British Isles, but it is commoner in some parts than in others, and appears to be scarce in Ireland. The red form, and intermediates, occasionally occur in the New Forest, and also in other parts of Southern England, but in Scotland it is not uncommon. The distribution abroad is, like that of the last species, pretty much confined to Western Europe.