202 . THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



fore wings from greyish to blackish. Caterpillar, greyish brown, 

 tinged with ochreous, or sometimes pinkish ; a glossy plate on 

 first ring, greyish or brownish ; spots glossy, each with a tiny 

 hair ; lines rather darker, but often indistinct. It feeds from 

 July to April on various plants, but only attacks the tender 

 stems near the surface of the ground. In fields it is destructive 

 to turnips and swedes, making large cavities in the bulb, which 

 it enters from just above the tap-root. The moth flies in June, 

 and occasionally as a second generation in the autumn. 

 Generally distributed over the British Isles, and often very 

 common. Its range extends throughout nearly the whole of 

 Europe and the greater part of Asia. 



The Archer's Dart {Agrotis (Enxoa) vestigia /is). 



The specimens shown on Plate 104 are typical of the sexes 

 (Figs. I J , 3 9)- The normal pale brown colour is sometimes 

 replaced by greyish, reddish, or olive brown. A specimen 

 with black fore and hind wings has been recorded from North 

 Wales by Mr. Jager. The markings vary in intensity, and 

 occasionally are almost or quite absent. Several of the 

 varieties have been named. The caterpillar, which feeds on 

 bed-straw and various grasses, etc., is greenish grey, inclining 

 to brownish above, with a dark-edged pale line along the 

 middle of the back, and a similar line on each side ; the raised 

 spots are black, and the plate on first ring brownish ; head 

 ochreous, marked with darker. August to May, The moth 

 is out in July and August, and is chiefly found on sandhills 

 by the sea. It is most plentiful on the eastern and southern 

 coasts, and in Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire : it is often 

 not uncommon in the Brandon and Tuddenham districts, and 

 others, in the " Breck Sand " area of Suffolk and Norfolk. The 

 species has been recorded from Worcestershire, and I under- 

 stand that a few specimens were taken in Surrey last August 



