INSECTS AFFECTING GRAINS, GRASSES, FORAGE 87 



ish, and more or less marked with longitudinal stripes, oblique 

 dots and dashes, the markings usually being of a subdued 

 tone, so that the cutworm harmonizes in color with the 

 soil. They are cylindrical, with the head and prothoracic plate 

 horny and reddish brown, and bear three pairs of jointed legs 



FIG. 57. Cutworm moths: b, the well-marked cutworm-moth (Noctua 

 clandestina Harris); the dingy cutworm (Feltia sitbgothica Haworth); 

 male (m) and female (/) moths. (After Slingerland.) 



on the thorax and five pairs of prolegs on the abdomen. The 

 mature caterpillars pupate in cells a few inches below the sur- 

 face and in three or four weeks the adult moths emerge, usually 

 in July and early August in the Central and Northern States 

 and earlier farther south. 



Thus there is usually but one generation a year in the North 

 while in the South there are commonly two generations and in 

 some cases three. Though other stages than the larvae of 

 various species are known to sometimes hibernate, nevertheless 



