The caterpillar is variable in colour; one form is of a dusky ochreous colour with a pale line along the middle of the back, edged on each side with a darker tint, and most conspicuously {134} so on the hinder rings; the back is also dotted with black, and has some dark V- or X-shaped marks upon it; the body tapers to the notched dark-brown head. It feeds on bedstraw (_Galium_), convolvulus, etc., and, like others of its tribe, has a taste for withered leaves. August to May or June, according to the season. In confinement it has been induced by warmth to feed up quickly, and appear as a moth the same year. Only a short time is passed in the chrysalis stage. July is perhaps the best month for the moth, but it may be seen at any time from late June to early August. Its haunts are fens, marshes, and moist woodlands, etc., and although it is more frequent in the south, it is widely spread throughout England, but in the north it is rare, and its occurrence more or less casual. In Wales it has been recorded from Glamorganshire and Flintshire; but it is apparently unknown in Scotland and Ireland. THE BLOOD-VEIN (_Timandra amata_). The stripe across the wings of this pretty species (Plate 50, Figs. 9 and 10), extending from the apex of the fore wings to near the middle of the inner margin of the hind wings, is normally pinkish red, but it may be of a more crimson or purplish hue; it also varies in width. The fringes are usually pinkish red, and occasionally the margins of the wings are tinged with the same colour. The whitish-ochreous ground colour is normally finely powdered with grey, but sometimes so thickly that a greyish tinge is imparted to the wings. Barrett mentions a specimen with pale smoky brown wings, and, excepting that the tips of the fringes are tinged with pink, the usual markings are absent. In another example, "the space between the central and second lines is filled up with purple brown." The caterpillar is brownish grey, with three whitish lines on the back, the central one intersecting a series of four dark {135} lozenges. It feeds on various low-growing plants, such as persicaria, orach, sorrel, etc., but dock seems to be the most frequently selected pabulum. July to May, sometimes feeding up and appearing as a second generation of the moth in August. Weedy ditches, hedge banks, or moist waste places, are the favourite resorts of the moth; and when one example is flushed from its lurking place, others are almost certain to be hiding in the immediate vicinity. Widely distributed throughout England, but most common in the south; found also in North and South Wales; and sparingly in Scotland to Aberdeenshire, also recorded from Arran. Apparently rare in Ireland, as it is only noted from Kerry and Galway. FALSE MOCHA (_Ephyra porata_).