_The Bordered White_ (_Bupalus piniaria_) The male of this species is boldly marked with yellowish white and dark brown, the arrangement of the two colours being shown in fig. 190. The female is very different in general appearance. Her wings are of an almost uniform orange or yellowish-brown tint. The fore wings are darker near the tip, and there is generally a darker transverse band across the centre. [Illustration: FIG. 190.--THE BORDERED WHITE--MALE.] The male may often be seen flying in the sunshine among the branches of fir trees during May and June, but his mate is rather less active, and is generally to be secured by beating the branches. The caterpillar is pale green, with whitish stripes and yellow spiracles. It feeds during August and September on the leaves of the Scotch fir (_Pinus sylvestris_). Family--ZERENIDAE _The Currant Moth_ (_Abraxas grossulariata_) The family _Zerenidae_ contains only four British moths, and of these we select the Currant Moth or Magpie. This insect is exceedingly common everywhere, and on account of its general brightness of appearance, and also of its diurnal habits, it is often taken for a butterfly. The ground colour of the wings is creamy white, with a yellow transverse band, and a yellow blotch at the base; and the whole surface is more or less blotched with black. [Illustration: FIG. 191.--THE CURRANT MOTH.] From the end of June to August this moth may be seen in abundance in our gardens, wherever currant bushes exist, flying about both during the sunshine and at dusk, with rather a heavy movement. The caterpillar is white, with a yellow line along the spiracles, and numerous black dots. There are, in addition to the dots, two large black blotches on the back of each segment. It feeds during May on currant and gooseberry bushes, also on the blackthorn (_Prunus spinosa_). About the end of May it spins a light silken cocoon, and changes to a short dumpy chrysalis of a glossy black colour with bright yellow bands (fig. 34). Family--HYBERNIIDAE Passing over the family _Ligiidae_, which contains only one British moth, the Horse-chestnut, we come to the small but interesting family, _Hyberniidae_. Of this we have six species, five of which favour us during the bleakest months of the year. Two of them visit us in October and November, and even remain with us up to Christmas. The others follow closely on them, and may be seen from January to March. The males have slender bodies, and their wings are full and without angles; but the females are either perfectly or nearly wingless. In three cases there is hardly a trace of wings in this sex, so that they look more like spiders than moths. The caterpillars are long and slender and without humps, and all feed on the leaves of trees. They change to the chrysalis state under the ground. _The Spring Usher_ (_Hybernia leucophaearia_)