186 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 



ground-colour of the wing, the second (or reniform 

 stigma) is conspicuously darker ; besides these markings 

 there are two or three rather indented transverse lines. 

 The hind-wings of the male are white, or only with the 

 veins darker, those of the female are smoky-grey. 



The larva is dull grey, with the spots large and black, 

 and a blackish plate on the second segment ; it feeds in 

 autumn on the roots of various plants, seldom appear- 

 ing above the surface of the ground ; in turnip-fields it 

 is often extremely destructive, as many as twenty of 

 these ugly larvae being sometimes found at work on 

 one turnip. 



The perfect insect appears in June, and keeps out 

 through July and August ; from the white underwings 

 of the male, it is a conspicuous object when flying along 

 the hedgerows after dusk; it comes very freely both to 

 sugar and to light. 



The allied species, Agrotis segetum (the Common 

 Dart), is also very common ; in it the claviform stigma 

 is smaller and merely outlined, not filled up with brown- 

 black as in A. exclamationis ; and the hind-wings of 

 the female are little darker than those of the male. 



The habits of the two species seem precisely similar. 



FAMILY VII. NOCTUID^E. 

 AGROTIS AGATHINA. 



(Plate VII., Fig. 3.) 



This pretty heath-feeding species is widely dis- 

 tributed, and has now occurred in many very different 

 localities ; some twenty years ago, it was looked upon 

 rather as a prize. 



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



