126 



NOTE ON AGROTIS REPENTIS. 



By a. R. Grote. 



Having recently added to my books of reference on Ento- 

 mology a copy of Harris's original report, I went again over the 

 descriptions of the Noctuid?e. The common species first illus- 

 trated and described as Agrotis Repentis G. & R., Trans. Am. 

 Ent. Soc, Vol. I, Plate VH, I had since identified, but now I 

 believe incorrectly, with Harris's Agrotis Messoria. It was 

 redescribed as Agrotis CocJirani, by Prof. C. V. Riley, when 

 accounts were given of its destructiveness in the Missouri 

 Reports. The moth is found across the continent. Californian 

 specimens are somewhat larger than the Eastern ones, and at 

 first I thought they might belong to a different species. They 

 showed some resemblance to Herrich-Schaeffer's figure of 

 Lycarum, to which species I doubtfully referred them. Subse- 

 quent collections showed the presence of undoubted Repentis in 

 Colorado, and no doubt remains on my mind, that we have to do 

 with a single widely distributed species, and one that is of inter- 

 est as being injurious to the labors of the agriculturist. 



I have not been able to find the species in Harris's collection, 

 in the Cabinet of the Boston Society of Natural History ; nor 

 have I seen the type of Messoria, but I think it hardly possible 

 that the two can be the same species. Harris's description of 

 his species, in his original Report, p. 324, is as follows : 



" The reaping rustic {Agrotis messoria) as it may be called, is 

 the representative of the corn rustic [Agrotis segettini) of Europe. 

 The fore-wings are reddish gray, crossed by fine wavy blackish 

 bands, the first two of which, and generally the fourth also are 

 double ; the two ordinary spots, and a third oval spot near the 

 middle of the wing are bordered with black. The hind wings 

 are whitish, becoming dusky brown behind, and have a small 

 central crescent and the veins dusky. The head and thorax are 

 chinchilla-gray; the collar is edged with black ; and the abdomen 

 is light brownish-gray. It expands i Vio inch. 



From this it is clearly impossible that Repentis can be the 

 species. The reddish-gray primaries, the zvhitish hind-wings, the 

 eJiincJiilla-gray thorax, all point to another species, viz. : Agrotis 

 scandetis, Riley. I have elsewhere noted the variation of this 

 light-gray species, which has a tint of red, more or less noticeable 

 on the fore-wings. I have collected it in July on the flowers of 

 the milk-weed, near Buffalo. Some specimens have a very high 

 blush of red. 



Whether we can refer Scandens to this species of Dr. Harris's 

 or not, must, perhaps, be considered uncertain, until Harris's type 

 be found. But we cannot consider Repentis as Messoria any 

 longer.. This species I took with me to Europe in 1867, and 



