The larva, which feeds on the above-named tree, is pale greenish, with both white and black dots. It rolls itself up in a leaf, and seldom ventures out of the retreat thus formed. It is fully fed in July or August.
CHAPTER XIX
THE NOCTUÆ
We have already noticed that several of our moths fly by day; that some come out of their hiding places at dusk, and settle down again to rest before the deepest shadows of night fall; and that others prefer the darkest hours of the night. The tribe of moths we are next to consider includes the greater number (about three hundred) of our truly nocturnal species, hence the name that heads this chapter.
They are generally of a somewhat dingy appearance, the prevailing colours being dull shades of grey, drab, and brown. So closely, in fact, do certain of them resemble each other, that the greatest care has to be exercised in the identification of species—a task that is rendered still more difficult by the variations that we observe in the tints and markings of certain species.
These moths have generally rather stout bodies. Their fore wings are somewhat narrow, and, when the insects are at rest, these are brought close to the body, and the hind pair are folded up beneath them.
Family—Bryophilidæ
The Marbled Beauty (Bryophila Perla)
Our first family—the Bryophilidæ—contains only four British species. These are small and slender-bodied moths, whose larvæ feed in early morning on the lichens that cover stones and old walls, and conceal themselves by day in holes and chinks and under stones.
The Marbled Beauty is the only moth of this family that may