GS FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF 



These caterpillars are called surface caterpillars in England, in 

 which country, as well as on the continent of Europe, they have long 

 been known to do great damage to vegetables, and especially to the 

 cabbage, mangel-wurzel and turnip. There are many different species 

 and they vary in size and detail of markings ; but all of them are 

 smooth, naked and greasy-looking worms of some shade of green, 

 gray, brown or black, with a polished, scaly head, and a shield ot the 

 same color on the top of the first and last segments ; while most of 

 them have several minute shiny spots on the other segments, each 

 spot giving rise to a minute stiff hair. They also have the habit of 

 curling up in a ball when disturbed, as shown at Figure 2, in Plate 1. 

 They produce moths of sombre colors which are known as Owlet or 

 Rustic moths, and the species that have so far been bred in this coun- 

 try, belong to one or other of the four genera, Agrotis, Iladena, 

 Mamestra or Celcena. These moths fly, for the most part by night, 

 though some few of them may be seen flying by clay, especially in 

 cloudy weather. They frequently, even in large cities, rush into a 

 room, attracted by the light of gas or candle, into which they heed- 

 lessly plunge and singe themselves. They rest with the wings closed 

 more or less flatly over the body, the upper ones entirely covering 

 the lower ones, and these upper wings always have two, more or less 

 distinctly marked spots, the one round, the other kidney-shaped. 



The natural history of most of these cut-worms may be thus 

 briefly given. The parent moth attaches her eggs to some substance 

 near the ground, or deposits them on plants, mostly during the latter 

 part of summer, though occasionally in the spring of the year. 

 Those which are deposited during late summer, hatch early in the 

 fall, and the young worms, crawling into the ground feed upon the 

 tender roots and shoots of herbaceous plants. At this time of the 

 year, the worms being small and their food plentiful, the damage they 

 do is seldom noticed. On the approach of winter they are usually 

 about two-thirds grown, when they descend deeper into the ground, 

 and, curling themselves up, remain in a torpid state till the following 

 spring. When spring returns, they are quite ravenous, and their cut- 

 ing propensities having fully developed, they ascend to the surface 

 and attack the first green succulent vegetation that comes in their way. 

 When once full grown they descend deeper into the earth, and form for 

 [ F | g- 25 1 - themselves oval chambers, in which they 



change to chrysalids, as shown in the annexed 

 I cut (Fig. 25). In this state they remain from 

 ^.Igftwo to four weeks, and finally come forth as 

 moths, during the months of June, July and 

 August, the chrysalis skin, being in most cases so thin, that it is im- 

 possible to preserve it. These moths in time lay eggs, and their pro- 

 geny goes through the same cycle of changes. Some species, how- 

 ever, as I shall presently show, are most likely two-brooded, while 

 others pass through the winter in the chrysalis state. 



