DESCRIPTIVE NOTICES OF CONSPICUOUS SPECIES 183 



of brownish ; from the centre of the base is a very 

 decided, short black streak ; beyond the middle the 

 margins of the reniform stigma form a whitish spot, 

 the lower half of the stigma is, however, filled up with 

 blackish. 



The larva is brownish, with the dorsal and subdorsal 

 lines ochreons, and a whitish line on the sides ; the 

 spots are black. It feeds in autumn on wheat, and 

 may be seen by scores in places where wheat is being 

 thrashed ; in the early spring it feeds on various low 

 plants. 



The perfect insect appears in June, and may often be 

 taken on the wing after dusk ; it also comes freely to 

 sugar and to light. 



FAMILY V. 

 APAMEA OCULEA. THE COMMON RUSTIC. 



This is one of the most abundant of our Noctuse, 

 and seems very generally distributed throughout the 

 country. 



The expansion of the wings is nearly 1J inch. The 

 fore-wings vary extremely in colour, and also in mark- 

 ings, so that formerly this one insect used to count 

 in our collections as several distinct species. 'The pre- 

 vailing colour is brown, sometimes pale brown, some- 

 times reddish-brown, and occasionally of a black-brown, 

 sometimes there is a darker shade along the costal 

 portion of the wing, sometimes there is a darker central 

 band ; beyond the middle the reniform stigma forms a 

 conspicuous pale spot, ochreous or whitish, sometimes 

 actually white. 



The larva is of a dull grey or greenish-white, with the 



