NOCTUAS. 



819 



outer edge of the reniform spot, and pointing 

 to the hind margin ; but between this dark 

 mark and the hind margin there are two 

 acutely wedge-shaped spots pointing towards 

 the middle of the wing : the hind wings are 

 delicate pearly-gray, glossed with pink rrflec- 

 tions, and having darker wing-rays, more es- 

 pecially towards the hind margin, which is 

 also clouded with brown ; the head and thorax 

 are umber-brown, the body rather paler. 



Some EGGS of this moth, procured from a 

 female captured on sallow blossoms on the 

 24th March, were laid on 7th of April, and 

 were hatched on the 30th of the same month. 

 The CATERPILLARS appear to lead a subter- 

 ranean life, invariably remaining buried in 

 the earth during the hours of daylight, and 

 only coming out to feed by night. The head 

 is smaller than the second segment, and very 

 glabrous ; the body is cylindrical, and having 

 the warts common in these subterranean cater- 

 pillars very small and inconspicuous, and each 

 emits a short and very fine bristle : there is 

 a glabrous plate on the second segment. The 

 colour of the head is pale semi-transparent 

 brown, mottled with darker brown ; of the 

 body, dull lead-colour, slightly metallic, and 

 somewhat shining ; there is a very narrow 

 medio-dorsal stripe rather paler, and two 

 stripes on each side rather darker than the 

 ground colour, and all of these are rendered 

 more visible from having darker borders ; but 

 all these markings are extremely indistinct. 

 It feeds on the roots and leaves of eudive, 

 spinach, sea-kale, lettuce, radishes, and pro- 

 bably other cultivated vegetables. When 

 full-fed it forms an oval cell in the earth, 

 polishing the inside with care, and in this 

 changes to a red-brown CHRYSALIS with a 

 sharp spine-like caudal extremity. See No. 47 

 of the Entomologists' Monthly Magazine. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in Sep- 

 tember, and occurs in most of our English 

 counties ; it is reported by Mr. Douglas 

 Robinson from Scotland, and by Mr. Birchall 

 from Ireland. (The scientific name is Agro- 

 tis suffu&a.) 



Obs. This is the Small Sword-grass (Bom- 

 tyx spinifenu) of Haworth (Lep. Erit., 



No. 51), and Noctua spinifera (Lep. rit. % 

 No. 154), and also the Dark Sword-graae 

 (Noriua tujfiisa, Lp. Srit., No. 15? ). 



625. The Pearly Underwing (Agrotis saucia). 



525. THE PEARLY UNDERWING. The an- 

 tennae are very slightly ciliated in the male, 

 making them appear stouter than those of 

 the female ; the fore wings are straight on 

 the costa, blunt at the tip, and- slightly waved 

 on the hind margin ; their colour is generally 

 dull-brown, with a strong tendency to become 

 vinous-red on the costa and sometimes this 

 colour pervades the whole <>f the wing; but 

 these shades are very inconstant indeed, the 

 distribution and tint of ground colour seems 

 vei v capricious ; in some specimens the costal 

 area is almost black, as in the second figure, 

 in others it is pale wainscot-brown, as in the 

 third figure ; both the disooidal spots ar? t c 



