In its most frequent form this species (Plate [131], Figs. 5, 6) has the fore wings greyish brown and somewhat shining; the markings, especially the cross lines, indistinctly paler; the reniform is outwardly dotted with white. Sometimes the ground colour is paler grey with black markings arranged very similar to such marks in A. gemina, var. remissa (Fig. 8).
The caterpillar is greenish grey, with the raised dots rather greyer; a pinkish line along the back; head and plate on first and last rings shining reddish brown. It feeds on grasses growing in salt marshes, edges of tidal rivers, and ditches of brackish water: in the spring and until June; perhaps from September. The moth is out from June to August, and may be obtained at the flowers of marram grass as well as at sugar. The species is found in most of the eastern and southern seaboard counties of England; at Sandown and Freshwater in the Isle of Wight; in the fens of Huntingdon and Cambridge; also occasionally in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Lancs, Yorks, and Durham. In Scotland it has been obtained in Moray and in the Shetlands. Local in Ireland. The range abroad extends to Amurland.
The Large Nutmeg (Hama sordida).
The fore wings of this moth (Plate [131], Figs. 1, 2) are pale ochreous brown, much marbled with darker brown, and sometimes slightly tinged with reddish; the pale stigmata and submarginal line are the most distinct of the usual markings. The caterpillar is said to be very like that of Apamea basilinea. The moth flies in June, and is not uncommon in most parts of Southern England. It occurs in Lancashire and Cheshire, but is more frequent in Yorkshire and Durham; also found in South Wales, and although it has been obtained in the Shetlands, it seems to be very local and infrequent in Scotland. Only twice recorded from Ireland, one specimen on the Dublin coast, 1860, and one at Howth (Kane).
The Confused (Hama furva).
This darker mottled greyish brown moth (Plate [131], Figs. 3, 4) is very similar to the typical form of A. gemina (Fig. 7); the fore wings, however, are distinctly broader at the base, the W-like angles of the submarginal line are less noticeable, and this line is comparatively straighter. The reddish tinge so usual in A. gemina is absent in the present species.
The caterpillar is ochreous tinged with pinkish, except on the first three rings and the under surface; central line dusky; usual dots reddish brown, as also are the head and plates on first and last rings. On grasses, September to June, feeding chiefly on the shoots near the roots (condensed from Buckler). The moth occurs from July to September, and may be obtained at flowers of ragwort, scabious, etc., and freely at sugar, in rocky places from Lancashire northwards through Scotland to the Shetlands. It also occurs in Wales, and suitable places in Gloucester, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and has also been recorded from Sussex. In Ireland found on several parts of
the coast, but not plentiful. Abroad the range extends to Amurland.