INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN, 



275 



THE VARIEGATED CUTWORM. 

 Peridroma saucia, Hubner. 



This variegated cutworm is equally as common as the dingy cut- 

 worm in the State of ^Missouri. Sometimes one and sometimes the 

 other appears to be the most numerous in the corn fields whenever they 

 occur in sufficient quantities to attract attention. 



The adult moth of the variegated cutworm is somewhat larger than 

 the preceding species, it being about one and three-quarters of an inch 

 across its expanded wings. It is likewise an inconspicuously colored 

 moth, the front wings being of a dull grayish-brown, tinged with reddish, 

 and with a darker margin. The hind wings are of a pearly-white color, 

 with the margins tinged light-brown, as are also the principal veins. 





!^'-2i*.- 



dorsalview- e e7s' ^Patlv lnit;i:^^''T '" ^^^'^^ position; d, dark colored larva. 

 Howard! TL'SDtf!: Srfc ) ^"^^'^^^^^ f' egg mass on twig, natural size. (From 



A better idea of these adult moths can be had by observing figures 34, a, 

 and- 35, c, and d—b and c are natural size. This color, however, varies 

 considerably with the different individuals, the species being quite variable 

 in the adult condition as well as in the larval stage. 



These moths are likewise nocturnal in their habits, seeking sheltered 

 places, such- as the bark of trees and about rail fences, where they remain 

 during the day, and, like the preceding species, are rarely noticed by 

 the ordinary observer unless they should happen to take flight, which,, 

 by the way, they do not readily do at this time. Their color so closely 

 resembles that of the object upon which they are resting, that they escape- 



