HANDBOOK OF BUTTERFLIES. 85 



with pale spots or markings on the fore wings, and some fly 

 rapidly near the ground, while others have a hovering flight like 

 the Ghost Moth. 



The Noctiuz form a large and compact group of moths. They 

 are seldom brightly coloured ; but the fore wings are generally 

 of some dark colour, and the hind wings are brown or white, 

 often iridescent, and generally without markings ; it is rare for 

 the markings of the fore wings to be continued on the hind 

 wings in this group. The body is moderately stout ; the thorax 

 is generally covered with hair, and sometimes crested, and the 

 abdomen is rather long, often extending beyond the hind wings ; 

 the antennas are generally simple. 



We have mentioned all the families of the Butterflies and 

 Sphinges, and nearly all those of the Bombyces ; but in the 

 Noctuce and following groups we can only mention a small 

 number of representative species. The first which we have 



Peach-Blossom Moth (Thyatira Bath}. 



selected is the Peach-Blossom Moth ( Thyatira Bath), belonging 

 to the family Cymatophorida. It is a very pretty moth, with 

 dark-brown fore wings and grey hind wings, the former with 

 several large spots of a very delicate pink and white. It ex- 

 pands an inch and a half, which may be considered about the 

 average size of the Noctucz. The Dark Arches (Xylophasia 

 folyodon), and the Cabbage Moth (Mamestra Brassica:), are both 

 very common in gardens. The former is a brown moth, with 

 some dark marks on the fore wings, near the hind margin of 

 which is a pale line, shaped like a W. The moth expands two 

 inches, and has a long body, tufted at the extremity. The 

 Cabbage Moth is smaller, with a shorter body ; the fore wings 

 are blackish-brown, with a pale W (a common mark in several 

 genera of Noctutz) near the edge, and with a pale mark in the 

 middle. The caterpillar is very destructive to cabbages. Both 

 these moths belong to the family Apamidcs. 

 The family Agrotidd> includes the most typical moths of the 



