NOCTUAS. 



319 



s 



; 



ter edge of the renifonu spot, and pointing 

 the hind margin ; but between this dark 

 ark and the hind margin there are two 

 nitely wedge-shaped spots pointing towards 

 e middle of the wing : the hind wings are 

 .elicate pearly-gray, glossed with pink rcfiec- 

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

 cially towards the hind margin, which is 

 so clouded with brown ; the head and thorax 

 re umber-brown, the body rather paler. 

 Some EGGS of this moth, procured from a 

 male captured on sallow blossoms on the 

 4th March, were laid on 7th of April, and 

 ere hatched on the 30th of the same month, 

 e CATERPILLARS appear to lead a subter- 

 anean life, invariably remaining buried in 

 .e earth during the hours of daylight, and 

 nly coming out to feed by night. The head 

 smaller than the second segment, and very 

 ;labrous ; the body is cylindrical, and having 

 .e warts common in these subterranean cater- 

 ars very small and inconspicuous, and each 

 its a short and very fine bristle : there is 

 glabrous plate on the second segment. The 

 lour of the head is pale semi-transparent 

 rown, mottled with darker brown ; of the 

 dy, dull load-colour, slightly metallic, and 

 hat shining ; there is a very narrow 

 edio dorsal stripe rather paler, and two 

 stripes on each side rather darker than the 

 ound colour, and all of these are rendered 

 ore visible from having darker borders ; but 

 all these markings are extremely indistinct, 

 t feeds on the roots and leaves of endive, 

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

 >ably 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 M'uyazine. 



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-sa.} 



Obs, This is the Small S\vord-gi-ass (Rom- 

 fyx spinifcm*) of Haworth (Lcp. Brit., 



No. 51), and Xociua spinifera (Lcp. Brit., 

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

 (Noctua svffnsa, Lep. Brit., No. 155). 



525. The Pearly Underwing (Ayrotis saucia). 



525. TEE PEARLY UNDERWING. The an- 

 tenna 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 of the wing ; but 

 these shades are very inconstant indeed, the 

 distribution and tint of ground colour seems 

 very 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 discoidal spots are to 



