The moth may be obtained at sugar, ivy-blossom, etc., from August to October, and it seems that the earliest to emerge are those that first take up hibernating quarters in barns, outhouses, roofs, belfries, and under arches. In the spring it reappears, and may be met with even in June. A specimen was taken at sugar on July 20, 1899, but whether this is to be regarded as a very late date or an unusually early one, I cannot say. Generally distributed throughout Great Britain and Ireland, but of the Scottish Isles only recorded from Shetland. Abroad it ranges through Europe to North-West Africa, and through Asia to Amurland and Japan; also in temperate North America. NOTE.--Stephens (1829) referred this species to the genus _Calyptra_, Ochs., but in 1831 he adopted _Scoliopteryx_, Germar (1811). _Gonoptera_, Latr., which has been frequently used, only dates from 1825. {64} QUADRIFINAE. THE GOLDEN PLUSIA (_Plusia moneta_). [Illustration: FIG. 2. GOLDEN PLUSIA AT REST. (Photo by H. Main.)] The British history of the grey tinged pale golden species, shown on Plate 22, Fig. 4, dates back only to 1890. In that year, on July 2, Mr. Christy, of Watergate, Emsworth, found a specimen in his illuminated moth trap; this was noted in the _Entomologist_ for August, 1890. From subsequent records it appears that a specimen had been taken on the same date at a gas lamp near Reading, by Mr. W. Holland; whilst one was captured, at a light, near Tunbridge Wells on July 1. The earliest British specimen, however, was one netted whilst hovering over flowers of _Delphinium_ at Dover, on June 25 of the same year, but this was not announced until October. Since its arrival here the species seems to have spread over England at a great rate, and it has recently been reported from Cheshire. In some southern gardens the caterpillars abound to such an extent that they are regarded as a plague. On the continent it is said to feed on sunflower, artichoke, burdock, and cucumber. [Illustration] 2 Pl. 24. 1. SCARCE BURNISHED BRASS. 2. GOLD SPANGLE. 3, 4. GOLD SPOT. 5, 6. BEAUTIFUL GOLDEN Y. 7, 8. PLAIN GOLDEN Y. [Illustration] 2 Pl. 25. 1. HERALD: _caterpillar_. 2. SMALL PURPLE-BARRED: _caterpillar_. 3. ROSY-MARBLED: _caterpillar_. {65}