This is one of the “local” moths, for while it is very common indeed in some places, it is seldom or never seen in others. You should look for it where ragwort grows, for on that plant the caterpillars feed. They are handsome little creatures, which you cannot possibly mistake for those of any other moth, for they are bright orange in colour, with black rings round their bodies. And sometimes they are so plentiful that they quite strip the ragwort plants of their leaves. When they are fully fed they change into shiny reddish-brown chrysalids on the surface of the ground. PLATE XXVIII THE WHITE ERMINE (3) In most parts of the British Islands this is a very common moth indeed. You may see it resting by day on fences and the trunks of trees, and after dark it will often come flying into a lighted room. Or you may notice it darting round and round street-lamps by night, and doing its very best to burn itself in the dazzling flame. And the caterpillar is even commoner in gardens than that of the “tiger” moth. It is really a sort of small “woolly bear,” for its body is covered all over with brown hairs. But you can always tell it from the real “woolly bear” by the pale line which runs along the middle of its back. It will feed on almost any plant in the garden, and is fully grown about the middle of September, when it spins a silken cocoon, and turns into a dark brown chrysalis. The moth appears in June. There is another kind of “ermine” moth, called the “buff ermine,” which is brownish-yellow in colour instead of white. The caterpillar is dingy white, with one white line and two dark ones running along its back, and is covered with pale brown hairs. You may often find it feeding upon dock leaves. The moth is quite as common as the White Ermine, and makes its appearance at the same time of the year. [Illustration: PLATE XXIX 1. Garden Tiger 2. Garden Tiger Caterpillar 3. Cream Spotted Tiger 4. Cream Spotted Tiger Caterpillar] PLATE XXIX THE GARDEN TIGER (1 and 2) Most likely you know the caterpillar of this moth a good deal better than the moth itself; for you may find it in almost any garden feeding on the leaves of hollyhocks and all sorts of other plants, while you can hardly walk along a hedge bank without noticing it upon those of the dumb-nettles. It is called the “woolly bear,” because it is covered all over with long brown hairs which look something like the fur of a bear, and when it has finished growing it spins a silken cocoon amongst the herbage, in which a number of these hairs are always entangled. But although it is so common one does not often see the moth. For it only flies by night, and hides away so cleverly during the day that one very seldom finds it. But sometimes it will fly through an open window into a well-lighted room, or cling to a street-lamp and gaze at the flame for hours together.