Climbing Cutworms. 661 



county in 1894 were this dingy cutworm. This indicates that it 

 does not often assume the climbing habit, and so far as we can find, 

 it has never before been recorded as a climber. 



Its history and distribution. — The moth was first named and 

 described in England, in 1810 from three or four American speci- 

 mens that had. become mixed with English insects ; it was not until 

 181:7 that the facts regarding the origin of most of these specimens 

 was pointed out, and the name was soon dropped from British lists. 

 A few English entomologists, however, still believe that the single 

 specimen belonging to Haworth, the describer, was a variety of a 

 common English species, but there is little evidence to support such 

 a view. In 1852, it was again described (as jaotdifera) in France 

 from several moths taken in America. It was first mentioned in 

 American literature by Dr. Fitch in 1856 ; he said it was then muck 

 the most common Noctuid in our State. The same year it was again 

 described in England (as ducens) from New York and west Canadian 

 specimens. 



The cutworm was first described and figured by Dr. Riley in 

 1869 from Illinois, where it was very destructive in gardens. It,, 

 doubtless, is one of the culprits in most of the reported outbreaks 

 of cutworms, and yet it has been definitely identified as doing 

 noticeable injury only a few times. In 1886 it was found destroying 

 many ripening strawberries in Indiana, and in 1887 and 1888 it was 

 very abundant and destructive in meadows and clover fields in 

 Illinois. Canadian field and garden crops were ravaged by cutworms 

 in 1888 and 1889, and the dingy cutworm was recognized as one 

 of the most numerous and destructive species. In 1890 beans, 

 squashes and cucuml)ers suffered severely from it in Michigan. 



It is, thus, one of our most common owlet-moths, and is known 

 to occur throughout the United States and in all of the Canadian 

 provinces from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. It is an American 

 insect, and has thus far never spread beyond its own country. 



Its appearance. — The excellent figures of the cutworm, twice 

 natural size, on plate 4, well illustrate its characteristics. It has a 

 very wide, buffy-grey dorsal stripe, and the sides are of a dusky^ 

 dingy grey ; the venter is lighter. The head and the thoracic and 

 anal shields are dark brown or dusky. The dark greenish-black 

 piliferous spots just behind the spiracles are large and prominent. 

 The spiracles are black ; the anterior ones are situated in a large 

 coriaceous brown spot. 



