The five portraits of this moth on Plate 136 will give some idea of the various forms it assumes. The blackish specimen is referable to var. _infuscata_, White, and an extreme aberration of this form has been named _æthiops_, Tutt. The caterpillar is greyish, inclining to brownish or reddish; usual dots blackish; head and plate on first ring of body dark brownish, and shining. August to September, feeding on grasses and devouring the stems near the base. The moth is out from June to August, sometimes in October and November. It occurs in all parts of the British Isles and is often abundant. THE CLOUDED BRINDLE (_Xylophasia hepatica_). The most frequent form of this species (Plate 135) has the fore wings pale brown, with well-defined black markings, but without distinct cross lines. When the wings are more clouded and suffused with reddish or purplish brown the paler ground colour shows up as cross lines, and these are more or less edged with blackish (var. _characterea_, Hübner). The caterpillar (Plate 130, Fig. 2) is dingy brown with shining black dots; three pale ochreous lines along the back, the central one most distinct; head black and shining; plate on first ring of the body black crossed by white lines, another on the last ring is blackish. Feeds from August to April on grasses, but will also eat various low plants. The chrysalis (Fig. 2A) which {281} is enclosed in a tender earthen cocoon, is reddish, blackish between the rings, and the last ring, which is blunt at apex, is furnished with four hooks. The moth is out in June and July. A common species in the eastern and southern counties of England, but less frequent or rare in the Midlands and northwards to Roxburgh in Scotland. Local and not numerous in Ireland. Range abroad extends to Amurland. THE SLENDER BRINDLE (_Xylophasia scolopacina_). This is another species with reddish brown clouded, pale ochreous brown fore wings. The ground colour may be whiter or redder than in the specimens shown on Plate 135, Figs. 7, 8. The caterpillar (Plate 130, Fig. 1) is dusky green above and whitish green beneath, the green shading into blackish along the sides; a fine whitish line along the middle of the back; usual dots black; head honey-brown and glossy, the jaws and a spot on each cheek black. It feeds on the juicy lower part of the stems of grasses, such as _Triticum_, but will also eat the leaves. In the spring, and till June, probably after hibernation. The moth is out in July and August, and as an uncommon event may be seen at rest on a tree trunk or paling. Stephens (1829) refers to its occurrence in the London district, and it still appears in woods around Highgate. It seems to be most plentiful in the woods of South Yorkshire, and in the Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire; but it has been found more or less frequently in several of the southern counties of England, and also in some northern ones. Its range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.