346 LEPIDOPTERA. 



exactly like eaTthworms, by day underground, and at night 

 only on the surface in order to feed. Salad and such-like 

 succulent plants were much more relished by them than the 

 tenderest shoots of the vine. The pupa, which possesses an 

 extremely thin shell, lay in an earthen cocoon. Dr. Pagens- 

 tecker bred a large number of the larvse, with the same results 

 as myself. In September occasionally a few pass through their 

 stages and appear in the perfect state, as rather smaller 

 specimens than those of the first brood, but the large majority 

 hibernate as larvae. The perfect insects conceal themselves 

 by day on the earth, in deep crevices of the bark of trees near 

 to the ground, in chinks of stones, &c. Among the large 

 number of examples reared in the course of these broods 

 there were those figured by Htibner as fmnosa, aquilina, 

 ohdisca, jictilis, imicolor, crata, carhojica, -praticola, vitta, and 

 imris ; besides the following figured by Herrick-Schaffer : 

 adumhrata, rustica, fmnosa, tritici, and ohelisca. All were 

 plentifully represented, and it could not but be that all 

 belonged to one and the same species, united as they were by 

 numerous intermediate forms. Among them were several 

 forms, especially of fitmosa {nigricans) of a beautiful lilac 

 tint, which however faded into grey in the course of a year. 

 One ohelisca was entirely lilac-coloured without markings, 

 with a white costal streak. Of varieties collected at the same 

 time by night, there are besides to be mentioned a pale 

 yellowish example, devoid of markings except perfectly black 

 outlines of the stigmata ; and one found by Dr. Schirm, 

 leaden-coloured throughout, without markings on the fore 

 wings, of which only the margin of the reniform stigma is 

 indicated by a black spot." 



In connection with this Mr. Warren adds : " One summer 

 many years ago I beat out of some ivy which covered the wall 

 of a garden in this town (Cambridge) a great variety of 

 common Moctuaj, and among them numerous specimens of 

 Atjrotis nigricans and tritici, and two each of A. (djuilina 

 and A. obcliscct. I remember having been much surprised at 



