NOCTUAS. 



Rower, seakale, &c., and the young CATER- 

 PILLAR emerges in a few days, and imme- 

 diately commences its destructive career. I 

 am unable to give a precise date for ovipo- 

 sition, or for the emergence of the caterpillar, 

 having observed them feeding throughout the 

 summer and autumn. Tn a perfectly natural 

 state this caterpillar devours the leaves of 

 almost every herb, particularly the various 

 species of Chenopodium and Rumex : in the 

 garden it is excessively destructive, having an 

 insatiable appetite, which it seeks to indulge, 

 without intermission, day and night; it spoils 

 even more than it devours, gnawing its way 

 into the very heart of our cabbages, and filling 

 its galleries with watery and disgusting excre- 

 ment ; it is next to impossible to rid the 

 cabbages of their unwelcome tenant, which 

 continually escapes the vigilant eyes of the 

 cook, and, boiled to death in the midst of its 

 noxious career, is served up as an almost in- 

 evitable concomitant of summer cabbage. It 

 is, however, by no means confined to the in- 

 terior, but may be found feeding exposed on 

 cabbages, dahlias, geraniums, marygolds, and 

 almost every plant, useful or ornamental, that 

 the garden produces. When full-fed, it rolls 

 itself into a compact ring if annoyed, and re- 

 mains in that position for a considerable time; 

 when crawling, the head is somewhat por- 

 rected. The head is scarcely so broad as the 

 body, and is partially received into the second 

 segment; the body is cylindrical, smooth, and 

 velvety ; the twelfth segment is slightly in- 

 crassated dorsally. The head is very glabrous, 

 testaceous, reticulated, or marbled with darker 

 brown ; the body usually divided longitudi- 

 nally into two equal regions as regards colour ; 

 the dorsal region, including the spiracles, is 

 olive-brown ; the ventral region dingy yellow ; 

 the division between the two colours is usually 

 abrupt and clearly defined, and extends 

 throughout the length of the caterpillar from I 

 the head to the end claspers ; on the back of 

 every segment isa somewhatobscuretriangular 

 mark pointing backwards, and rendered more 

 conspicuous by being bounded by a lighter 

 shade ; in each triangle are two white dots 

 placed transversely j the spiracles are also 



white ; the legs and claspers are of the same 

 colour as the ventral surface. Such is a ce- 

 scription of the normal and more marked 

 colouring of this ubiquitous caterpillar, but it 

 varies infinitely ; in some examples there are 

 evident black dorsal markings on each side of 

 each segment, except the twelfth, and on tlu.t 

 a large square black patch, of which the hinder 

 and lateral margins are well defined, but not 

 the anterior margin ; in others the olive hue 

 of the back is replaced by a clear brown, and 

 again in others the entire body is of a pale and 

 perfectly uniform dingy-green. The cater- 

 pillar changes to a brown and glossy CHRYSALIS 

 in the earth, and remains in that state through- 

 out the winter. During the autumnal and 

 winter garden-digging, the chrysalids are 

 txirned up by hundreds, and might then be 

 readily collected; they are a favourite food of 

 all kinds of poultry fowls, guinea-fowls, pea- 

 fowls, and pheasants devour them with the 

 greatest avidity. 



The MOTH appears on the wing continuously 

 during the summer and is common in England, 

 Scotland, and Ireland. (The scientific name 

 is Mamestra Brassicce.} 



500. The Dot (Mamestra Persicarice). 



500. THE DOT. The antennae are long, and 

 very slender towards the tip, those of the male 

 are very slightly ciliated ; the fore wings are 

 ample, rather pointed at the tip, and slightly 

 waved on the hind margin, their colour is very 

 rich dark bistre-brown, frequently variegated 

 with rich chestnut ; the orbicular spot is 

 circular, but very indistinct, its outline is 

 sometimes indicated by a few white scales ; 

 the reniform is very bright and conspicuous ; 

 it is of a pure white, excepting a cloud in the 

 centre, which takes the form of the exterior 

 outline, and varies in tint from a dingy smoke- 



