Opigea'a — Agrotts. 189 



genus iii. — opigena (boisd.). 



Fore-wings narrow, with the 7Vi?r/««-pattern distinct ; the forehead with a divided crest of 

 hair ; the middle joint of the palpi with a projecting pointed tuft ; the front tibiae with spurs ; 

 and the abdomen convex. The only species, O. Polygona (W. V.), has dark violet-brown fore- 

 wings, violet-grey in the lower half of the central shade, with fine double black transverse lines ; 

 the two stigmata large, and the discoidal cell deep black between them, and as far as the elbowed 

 line; hind-wings pale-grey. Expands about l^ inches. Found throughout a great part of 

 Central Europe (Britain excepted) in July, but not common. The larva is green, with a dark 

 green stripe on the sides, bordered with white, and a whitish subdorsal line on the front 

 segments. It feeds on low plants till May. 



GENUS IV.— AGROTIS (HUBN.). 



Small or middle-sized moths, with .stout bodies ; the fore-wings, which vary in breadth, 

 are brown or grey, rarely green, with the Noctua-'^dXttxw more or less distinct ; the discoidal 

 cell often filled up with black, the transverse lines single or double ; dark, generally dentated, 

 and often marked with black dots at or beyond the extremities of the teeth ; the sub- 

 terminal line nearly always simply waved ; the hind-wings whitish or greyish, with no 

 well-marked dark marginal band. The thorax is rounded in front, or with obtusely angulated 

 and sometimes almost rectangular shoulders. The larvae of some species {XantJwgrapha, 

 Umbrosa, &c.) lie underground for three months after they are full-grown, before assuming the 

 pupa state, and die if they are disturbed. This great genus, which is one of the most typical 

 among the Noctuce, may be divided into several sections. 



A. — Graphiphora (Ochs.). — Front tibice not shorter than the first joint of tJie tarsi, without 

 bristles, or with a roiv on the inside only ; on the outside there are at most one or two scattered 

 bristles. 



*l. A. Augur (Fabr.). — Fore-wings greyish-brown, with a slight reddish-violet lustre; two 

 simple dark transverse lines, narrowly bordered with lighter, and strongly dentated ; the three 

 stigmata broadly surrounded with black, and the subterminal line suffused ; hind-wings dark grey. 

 Expands about if inches. Common in Northern and Central Europe and the Altai in June 

 and July. The larva is brown, with dark angular spots, two white dots on the back of each 

 segment, and a dull brown stripe on the sides, bordered above with black. It lives on low plants 

 till May. 



*2. A. Neglecta (Hiibn.). — Fore-wings reddish-grey or reddish-brown, with the markings 

 very indistinct, the reniform stigma filled up with dusky beneath. There is often a row of black 

 dots beyond the elbowed line ; the subterminal line may be regularly and narrowly bordered with 

 darker, or not shaded at all ; the antennae of the male are serrated, and the palpi are dark brown. 

 Expands about i| inches. It is found on heaths throughout Central Europe in July and August, 

 but is not common. The larva is brownish, ochre-yellow, or green, with three dull pale lines on 

 the back and a whitish stripe on the sides. It feeds on heath and bilberry till June. {A. 

 Quadrangitla, Eversm., from South Russia, is dark brown, fore-wings tinged with grey, with the 

 transverse lines waved and darker, the orbicular and reniform stigmata indistinct, and separated 

 by a dark brown square spot ; hind-wings dark grey.) 



*3. A. Sobrina (Boisd.). — Fore-wings violet-grey, varied with yellowish-brown, with indistinct 

 markings; a row of black spots beyond the elbowed line; the subterminal line suffused, broadly 



