74 FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF 



consideration, is apparently quite common here, and yet Mr. A. Grote 

 of New York, who made a trip to Europe last year, for the purpose of 

 comparing our American moths with those in the British museum, and 

 in other European collections, took a specimen with him and brought 

 it back unnamed. In the collection of Mr. A. Bolter, of Chicago, it is 

 marked A,gvotis saucia, Treitschke, while Mr. Cresson informs me that 

 in the collection of the American Entomological Society, at Philadel- 

 phia, it is named cequa, but without authority. Harris's description of 

 inermis (lnj. Insects, p. 444), brief and insufficient as it is, agrees with 

 some of the individuals, and, as it is said to be the counterpart of cequa 

 which is an European species, I have concluded, rather than to create 

 more synonyms, to redescribe it below, under this name. Individuals 

 among the numerous specimens which I bred from the same batch of 

 eggs, differ greatly from one another, and I find this to be the case 

 with all owlet moths. Indeed, with the present species, a description 

 taken from any single specimen would scarcely suffice for any of the 

 others, and it is not at all unlikely that this species has received diff- 

 erent names from different authors. 



Acrotis inermis, Harris — Larva — Length, when full grown, 2 inches. Finely mottled with 

 dull, carneous-brown and black, and having dark velvety longitudinal marks along subdorsal and 

 etigmatal region (see PI. 1, Fig. 2) ; segment 11 somewhat ridged and abruptly divided trans- 

 versely by velvety black and carneous. Lighter laterally than above. A carneous stripe below stig- 

 mata. Venter and legs speckled glaucous. Dorsum of segments marked its in Plate 1, Figure 4; 

 Head light gray, and marked as in Plate 1, Figure 3. Cervical shield obselete. 



Chrysalis. — Of normal form, deep mahogony brown, with a single point at extremity. 



Perfect insect. — Average length 0.80 ; alar expanse 1.80. Ground color of fore wings gray- 

 brown, marked as in Plate 1, Figure 1. A most variable species, sometimes washed with dull car- 

 neous, at others with light buff, but always marked with more or less smoky black. Costal region, 

 head and thorax, sometimes very black, at others bright golden-buff. Spots, usually lighter than 

 wing, though sometimes concolorous. Basal half and transverse lines more or less distinct, espe- 

 cially at costa, geminate, their middle space, usually lighter than the ground color. Hind wings 

 pearly white, with a very slight pink tint in the middle, shaded behind and veined with smoky 

 brown. 



Under surface of the wings, the least variable and most characteristic feature, that of fore- 

 wings being mouse-gray with a distinct ferruginous spot in the middle at base, and a lighter strip 

 running from this spot to the posterior angle ; the arcuated band very distinct and geminate at 

 costa, and the whole surface pearly and especially the light strip at interior margin which in cer- 

 tain lights reflects all the prismatic colors. That of hind wings pearly white in the middle, darker 

 near the margins, distinctly freckled along anterior margin, where the arcuated band is very dis- 

 tinct, while in the middle of the wing it is represented by distinct black strokes on the veins. 



Described from 25 bred specimens. 



THE DARK-SIDED CUT-WORM. 

 (Larva of the Cochran Rustic, Agrotis Cochranii, Riley.) 



This worm is one of the most common of those which have the 



climbing habit. It is represented in the annexed Figure 20, at a. 



[Fig- 26 -] The general color is dingy ash- 



\ / gray, but it is characterized more 



s= J^DrtL. I^^^^v^fc^^^^BS es P e °i a ^y by the sides being dark- 

 EjSj" er than the rest of the body. When 



j||||f_ ^fe young, it is much darker, and the 



K| BIB '^sl,:.y Y^rr^vf'' white, which is below the dark 



W lateral band, is then cream-color- 



a b ed, and very distinct. It produces 



