118 



THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 



cocoon, Fig. 3. From these, after a few weeks, the perfect moths emerge. 



They are very active at night, and, when disturbed, have a habit of drop- 

 ping to the ground and remaining perfectly still 

 as if dead, where, from their dull colours, they 

 are difficult to detect. When at rest, their 

 wings lie horizontally over their backs, and the 

 upper ones entirely cover the lower pair The 

 upper wings are generally crossed with one 

 or more waved lines, and always bear two 

 one about half way down the wing, orbicular in 



Fig. -i — Cocoon. 



Fig. 4 — Gothic Dart Moth. 



characteristic marks 

 shape ; the other nearer the tip, 

 reniform or kidney shaped. Fig. 

 4 shows " The Gothic Dart 

 Moth " (Agrotis subgothica, 

 Haw.,) with wings closed and 

 -expanded ; this is a very com- 

 ■mon and injurious species, the 

 caterpillar of which is too well 

 known as the " Dingy Cut- 

 worm. " 



Cut-worms may be divided into three classes, according to their habits, 

 and remedies must be applied in a shghtly different manner for each. 

 These classes are : — 



1. Climbing Cut-worms, or those which climb trees and destroy the 

 buds. 



2. Surface Cut-worms, or those which live on the surface of the ground 

 and cut off herbaceous plants just beneath the surface of the soil. 



3. Those which combine both of these habits. 



Of the first class, a good representa- 

 tive is the Climbing Cut-worm (Agrotis 

 scandens, Riley). The Dingy Cut-worm, 

 the caterpillar of the Gothic Dart Moth 

 (Fig. 4), belongs to the second class, 

 and the " Variegated Cut-worm " 

 (Agrotis saucia Treit.), and the " Yel- 

 low-headed Cut-worm," which turns to 

 the "Amputating Brocade Moth" 

 (Hadena arctica Bois.) (Fig. 5) are good representations of the third class. 



Fig. 5 — Amputating Brocade Moth. 



