182 LEPIDOPTERA. 



SUB-SECTION III. Noctuce. 



Imago generally of moderate size; body stout, hairy, often 

 extending beyond the hind wings, and sometimes tufted ; proboscis 

 moderately long ; antennae setaceous, sometimes pectinated in the 

 male ; wings moderately broad, hind wings more slender than the 

 fore wings, often uniform brown, grey, or white, with a brown 

 submarginal border, and a brown central dot; frequently iridescent; 

 occasionally coloured like the fore wings, or adorned with bright 

 colours ; larva generally with sixteen legs, slightly pubescent ; pupa 

 often naked. This extensive group comprises a great number of 

 families, which it is perhaps unnecessary to characterise here in 

 detail. We shall therefore confine ourselves to noticing one or 

 two representative species in some of the principal families. The 

 genera of the Noctum are frequently very large, and the species 

 included in them are often very similar. 



Thyatim Bails, Linn., the Peach Blossom Moth, is greenish 

 brown, with several brown and rosy spots, bordered with black 

 and white, on the front wings; the hind wings are brown and 

 white (Fam. Cymatophoridce). 



Acronycta Psi, Linn., the Dagger Moth, has grey fore wings, 

 with several blackish marks, the most conspicuous being one near 

 the anal angle of the hind wings, resembling a dagger, or the 

 rreek letter i|r (Fam. Acronyctidce). 



The Wainscots (Fam. Leucanidce) have grey or reddish fore 

 wings, sometimes marked with longitudinal white lines, or with a 

 few small black dots ; the hind wings are paler. They are most 

 abundant in marshy places, and many of their larvae feed in the 

 stems of the reed, and other water plants ; the larva of a species 

 doubtfully belonging to this family (Nonagria (?) Sacchari, Sepp) 

 feeds on the pith of the sugar-cane. 



Polytela Gloriosce, Fabr., is a common East Indian species. The 

 thorax is bluish in front, and the head and hinder part of the 

 thorax are spotted with yellow ; the tip of the abdomen is yellow; 

 the fore wings are dark grey, with denticulated black lines, and 

 red and yellow stripes and markings, and the hind wings are grey, 

 with yellow fringes (Fam. Glottulidce). 



Xylophasia, Polyodon, Linn., the Dark Arches, is a brown moth, 

 about two inches in expanse, which is common everywhere in 

 gardens. The fore wings are varied with black, and have a pale 

 W-shaped submarginal line, a mark which reappears in a great 



