THE NORTHERN DART. 21 5 



in the green form, and yellowish brown marked with darker in 

 the brown form. It feeds from September to June on heath and 

 heather. The above brief description was made from apparently 

 full-grown caterpillars received from the New Forest on May 28, 

 1907, but not one of them attained the chrysahs stage. The 

 moth is out in August and September, and occurs on most of 

 the larger heaths, and on moorlands throughout the British Isles, 

 including the Hebrides and Orkneys. 



The stout Dart {Agrotis r avid a (phsaird)). 



The somewhat dingy brown, or greyish brown moth (Plate 107, 

 I^'K^- 5 i) 6 9) is sometimes tinged with reddish, and this tint 

 is generally p4'esent on the front or costal area. 



The caterpillar is ochreous brown with a paler line along the 

 back, and a series of dark edged, oblique and more or less 

 curved, yellowish marks on each side ; head greyish freckled 

 with brownish ; plate on first ring brown marked with pale 

 lines. It feeds on low-growing plants such as dock, dandelion, 

 chickweed, etc. ; September to May. The moth flies in July 

 and August, but its occurrence in Britain is somewhat irregular. 

 It is found, sometimes commonly, in most of the southern and 

 eastern counties of England, and also in Durham ; and has 

 been occasionally recorded from other parts of the country, as 

 well as from Scotland. For several years it may seem to quite 

 disappear and then suddenly become common in various districts. 

 Its range abroad extends to Amurland, North China, Corea, and 

 Japan. 



The Northern Dart {Agrotis {EpisiUa) hyperborca). 



Of this pretty Scottish species {alpina,, Westw. and Humph.) 

 four examples are figured in Plate 108. Figs, i and 2 represent 

 specimens from Shetland, and Figs. 4 and 5 are from Rannoch 

 specimens. These will show something of the variation in this 



