644 Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



turnal, but not with cutting, habits have been classed as cutworms; 

 they usually feed at night upon the leaves of low plants in the 

 same manner as the day-feeding oaterjjillars.* All cutworms usually 

 cui'l up when distm-bed. Several species cut off the plants at the 

 surface, others an inch or so above, while one cutworm [Iladena 

 devastatrix) rarely appears above the surface, but works on the roots 

 and stems just beneath. Sometimes cutworms draw the several 

 plants or leaves as far as possible into their day retreats where they 

 can continue their feast at leisure. 



Under certain conditions, however, cutworms may change their 

 usual habits. In several instances, true cutworms {Feliia herilis 

 and Noctua fennica) have appeared in enormous numbers and 

 have then assumed the army- worm habit of traveling in hordes 

 and feeding by day. Many of the species also know how to get 

 to the tender buds of fruit-trees or grape-vines when there is a 

 scarcity of their favorite food-plants to cut off. But little is 

 definitely known of the habits of young (less than half grown) 

 cutworms ; they are said to work in a similar manner as when nearly 

 full-grown but owing to their small size, do little damage to the 

 mass of vegetatioii.f 



There are known to occur in our state at least tbirty different 

 kinds of cutworms, and as many more Noctuid moths whose cater- 

 pillars may have cutworm-habits ; nothing is yet known about the 

 habits of many owlet-moth caterpillars. 



Appearance and Habits of the Moths. 



The moths — the parents of the cutworms — are also nocturnal 

 in habit. They rest during the day in sheltered spots on trees, 

 fences, and other suitable localities ; often their coloring so closely 

 mimics their surroundings that they are practically invisible to the 

 untrained eye. They feed upon the nectar of flowers and other 

 sweet exudations of plants, and are readily attracted to lights. As 



* According to Miss Murtfeldt (U. S Bull. 13, p. 60) and Dr. Lintner (Ent. 

 Contrib., IV, 93) two species {Ehynchagrotis alternata und Homohadenaiadistriga) 

 of cutworms bide on the trunk and branches of their food-plants during the day. 



t In some species, <atle;ist, the young cutworms, before they shed their skin the 

 first time, iire semi-loopers, that is, one or two pairs of pro-legs have not yet 

 appeared and they " loop " themselves along like measuring-worms. During 

 this stage they probably feed on the pl.int on which the eggs were laid, but after 

 the first moult they have the nor.nal number of legs, sixteen, and assume regular 

 cutworm habits. 



