Portraits of a male and a female of this species will be found on Plate [75], Figs. 11 ♂ and 12 ♀. The fore wings are greyish white, crossed by several darker grey wavy lines; the central band is rather darker, and in some specimens there is also a darker basal patch. In an almost unicolorous form the fore wings are wholly suffused with darker; Kane, who states that such specimens occur with the paler form in Ireland, refers the aberration to unicolorata, Gregson.
The caterpillar is brownish, with three whitish lines along the back, and a pinkish line low down along the sides. It feeds, at night, on bedstraw (Galium), in September and October, but may be found on the plants in the daytime. (Plate [73], Fig. 2, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in May and June, and in some localities again in August and September. It is fond of sitting on rocks, and also on tree-trunks.
Except that it has been found, not infrequently, on Dartmoor and Exmoor, in Devon, and has also been once noted from Dorset, the species in England is chiefly an inhabitant of the northern counties. It occurs in Wales, but almost exclusively in the north. In Scotland it appears to be widely distributed throughout; and in Ireland it occurs locally in all four provinces.
Mottled Grey (Malenydris multistrigaria).
The fore wings in the typical form of this species are grey, with a slight brownish tinge; basal patch, central band, and shade before the whitish submarginal line, sometimes darker. (Plate [77], Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀.) In some specimens the central band is very much darker (ab. virgata, Tutt); and in some parts of
south-west Yorkshire a blackish form (ab. nubilata, Tutt) is not uncommon. (Plate [77], Fig. 3.)
The caterpillar is ochreous grey, with three brownish lines along the back, and two other lines on each side, the upper one yellowish, wavy, and edged above with dusky. It feeds on bedstraw (Galium) in May and June. (Plate [73], Fig. 3.)
The moth is out in March and April, and keeps pretty much to the shelter afforded by its food plant or other herbage around in its favourite haunts, which are damp woodlands, heaths, and mosses. Occasionally, however, it may be seen on the lower parts of fences, tree-trunks, rocks, etc. About dusk it may be found sitting on grass and other vegetation, and at such times is not much disposed to fly away from the collector.
Pretty generally distributed throughout the British Isles, including the Orkneys.