Noctuidae 



by Prof. C. V. Riley in his " Second Annual Report " as State 

 Entomologist of Missouri. It appears from the investigations of 

 those who are familiar with the habits of the insect that they 

 appear in greatest numbers in years which are characterized by 

 being wet and cool, following 

 years in which there has been 

 drought. Such conditions seem 

 to be favorable to the develop- 

 ment of the insects in great 

 swarms. Their appearance in the 

 fields is often at first not observed; 



but when, having attained con- 



. , , , . ^, 1 /• • Fig. 112. — Moth of H. umpuncta. 



siderable size, the supply of grain ^^^^^^ j^.^^^^ 



and grasses gives out, and they 



begin to migrate in vast bodies in search of provender, they at 



once attract attention. 



The best remedy for these pests is to burn over grass lands 



in the winter, to keep the fence-rows clear of grass and weeds, 



and to plough under the land in the spring or the fall. Untilled 



grass lands on which crops are not properly rotated become 



centres of infection. 



(2) Heliophila pseudargyria Guenee, Plate XXIV, Fig. 

 47, ? . (The False Wainscot. ) 



A common species in the Atlantic States, freely attracted to 

 sugar. 



(3) Heliophila subpunctata Harvey, Plate XXIV, Fig. 

 35,$. (The Dark-winged Wainscot.) 



Syn. complicata Strecker. 



The range of this species is from New Mexico and Texas 

 to Arizona. 



(4) Heliophila minorata Smith, Plate XXIV, Fig. 41, <5 . 

 (The Lesser Wainscot.) 



This species is found in California and Oregon. 



(5) Heliophila albilinea Hubner, Plate XXIV, Fig. 34, 6. 

 (The White-lined Wainscot.) 



Syn. harveyi Grote. 



The insect is widely distributed, ranging from Nova 

 Scotia to New Mexico and Texas, but apparently avoiding 

 the Great Plains and the regions lying west of them. 



201 



