The rather long and somewhat oval fore wings of this species (Plate [137], Figs. 8, 9) are brownish grey, inclining to purplish grey; the two cross lines are blackish, edged with whitish, but generally indistinct; when the lines are well defined, the enclosed central area is sometimes darker than the other parts of the wings; there is a black central dot, and occasionally there is a well-marked dusky central shade. Hind wings, whitish, more or less tinged with smoky grey; frequently there is a dusky, curved line beyond the middle, and this is sometimes outwardly edged with whitish.
The caterpillar is greyish brown, dotted with black, and marked on the back and sides with reddish brown. When at rest on the twigs of its food plant, heather or ling (Calluna vulgaris), this caterpillar agrees so well with its surroundings that it is not at all easy to see; at least, we may see it, but fail to distinguish it from the twigs of the plant. It may be obtained in June and July, and again in the autumn. (Figured on Plate [140], after Hofmann.)
The first flight of the moth occurs in April and May; the second in August, but specimens of the later generation are usually small in size and in number, as compared with those of the early brood.
In Britain, this species has so far only been found on the heaths of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, Berkshire, and Suffolk; in all these counties it is more or less local, but it abounds in some of its haunts. It has been recorded from Hereford, and Edwards states that it occurs rarely in the Malvern district of Worcestershire.
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| 2 Pl. 138. | ||
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| 2 Pl. 139. | ||||||
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