LEPIDOPTERA. 



299 



Underwings feed on the leaves of various forest-trees. 

 Many species infest oak and hickory. By careful search 

 both the adults and larvae can be found resting on the 

 trunks of these trees ; but it needs sharp eyes to do it, as the 

 colors of these insects are usually protective. 



Among the more common Noctuids that occur in our 

 meadows and pastures, and that fly up before us as we walk 

 through them, are two species belonging to the genus Dras- 

 teria (Dras-te'ri-a). These may be called the Clover Looping- 

 ovvlets ; for the larvae feed on the leaves of clover, and, as 

 they have only three pairs of prolegs, they walk in a loop- 

 ing manner like the Geometrids. 

 One of these species is Drasteria 

 erechtea (D. e-rech'te-a). This 

 moth (Fig. 357) has dark or light 

 drab-gray fore wings, which are 

 marked by two large dark bands, 

 as shown in the figure. These 

 bands are always separate, dis- 

 tinct, and well defined towards the inner margin in the 

 male ; in the female the markings are much less dis- 

 tinct. 



The other common species of this genus is Drasteria cras- 

 siuscula (D. cras-si-us'cu-la). In this species the fore wings 

 have either a distinct violaceous brown or a red shade, with 

 the two large dark bands very variable, often shading 

 into the ground-color on the outer edge or coalescing near 

 the inner margin ; all the markings are equally distinct in 

 both sexes. 



There is a group of Noctuids containing about a score 

 of genera in which the species differ markedly in appearance 

 from the majority of the members of the family. In this 

 group the moths are of small or moderate size ; and some 

 of them bear a strong resemblance to Tortricids. Many of 

 the species are marked with bright colors, and especially 

 with white. The two following species will serve to illus- 



FIG. 357. Drasteria erechtea. 



