Fore wings pale greyish brown, with dark-edged pale cross lines; a pale whitish brown pink-tinged streak along the front
margin to the second line; below this is a short black dot; the reniform and orbicular marks are pale, the centre sometimes darker, and the claviform has a dark edge but is not distinct; the front of the thorax is broadly marked with black, hence the English name.
Only three British examples seem to be known; two of these were captured in the Isle of Wight, 1859 and 1876, and the third occurred in the lighthouse at Cromer in 1875. The range abroad is Central and Southern Europe, Western and Central Asia and India.
The Triple-spotted Clay (Noctua ditrapezium).
The ground colour of the fore wings of this moth ranges from pinkish brown through pale reddish brown to a purplish grey brown. The specimen shown on Plate [110], Fig. 9 ♂ is of the pinkish brown form from Tilgate Forest in Sussex. In a series bred from caterpillars obtained at Hampstead, North-west London, the bulk of the males are pale reddish brown, and the females purplish brown; one male, however, is as dark as the females. Caterpillar, purplish brown, mottled above with dark brown; a thin white line, interrupted with black, along the middle of the back, and a row of black marks on each side; on the sides are oblique blackish marks, with the white spiracles showing distinct at their lower ends. Head pale shining brown, the cheeks marked with darker brown. Feeds on dandelion, dock, chickweed, primrose, and other low plants; also on bramble and sallow, and in the spring on the young leaves of birch. September to May (Plate [111], Fig. 2).
The moth flies, in and around woods, in July. It is local and not always common, but has been found in the north-west and south-west districts of London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Devon, Wales (Swansea and Barmouth), and Norfolk (Cromer). It occurs in Scotland (Perthshire), and
two specimens have been recorded from Ireland. Its range extends to Siberia and Amurland.
The Double Square-spot (Noctua triangulum).
This species (Plate [113], Fig. 1) is usually pale brown, more or less tinged with reddish, but some specimens are of a rather darker hue, and others inclined to greyish. The conspicuous marks in the discal cell, usually black or blackish, are sometimes pale or dark reddish brown. The moth flies in June and July, and occurs in woods or well-timbered districts throughout England (except in Somerset, Dorset, and westward), Wales, Scotland (mainland), and Ireland.