In damp meadows the moth is out in May and June, but in marshes it does not appear, as a rule, until July, and may be found in early August. The marsh specimens, which are sometimes rather large in size, have been referred to palustris, Oberthür, and are treated by Tutt (Nat. Hist. Brit. Lep., vol. i.) as a sub-species.

2 Pl. 146.
1, 2.Transparent Burnet. 3.Scotch Burnet.
4, 5.New Forest Burnet. 6-9.Five-spot Burnet.

2 Pl. 147.
1, 2.Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet. 3-5.Six-spot Burnet.
6, 7.Scarce Forester. 8, 9.The Forester.
10, 11. Cistus Forester.

In the British Isles, the species is apparently confined to England and North Wales. In the former country it is locally common in most of the southern counties; still more local in the eastern counties, and northwards to Lancashire and Yorkshire. There are records from Armagh and Fermanagh, but Kane appears to doubt the occurrence of the species in Ireland. There is no doubt that the next species has frequently been mistaken for the present one, therefore the actual range of trifolii in the British Isles has probably not been fully ascertained.

Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet (Zygæna loniceræ).

As will be seen from the two specimens represented by Figs. 1 ♂ and 2 ♀ on Plate [147], this species bears considerable resemblance to ab. orobi of Z. trifolii. The chief differences are in the rather longer fore wings and the more pointed tips of the hind pair; the borders of the hind wings are often narrower. In a broad way, it may be stated that the general tone of colour in the male of loniceræ is bluer than that of trifolii. The union of any two or more spots is rarely seen in this species in Britain, but specimens with all the spots joined together have certainly been noted. A yellow form, ab. citrina, Speyer (= flava, Oberthür), is known on the continent, and Barrett states that it has occurred in England. In ab. lutescens, Hewett, the hind wings are orange. Ab. eboraceæ, Prest, is semi-transparent, steel blue; the spots and the hind wings are pink, the border of the hind wings brown, and the fringes of all the wings are whitish.

The caterpillar (Plate [145], Fig. 2) is very similar to that of the last species, but the black marks on the sides are heavier, and the hairs of the body are longer. It feeds on trefoils and clover, and sometimes passes two winters before becoming full grown. The cocoon, which is attached to stems of grass, etc., is generally placed well up above the ground, so that it is readily seen.