64 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



WOOD LEOPARD MOTH. 



and reddish hind wings. The Moth flies in fields, with a peculiar hovering flight, on summer evenings, 

 and its pale yellow caterpillar feeds on the roots of grasses. The other species are much smallei 1 , 

 and are called " Swifts " by collectors. They are brown or yellowish, with white streaks or spots 

 on the fore wings, and their caterpillars feed on the roots of plants. In some species the Moths 



have the same peculiar hovering flight as in //. 

 hnmuli, but others fly very rapidly near the ground 

 in the evening. 



The great group of Moths known as JVoctuce, 

 or Night Moths par excellence, consists of many 

 families, of which we will notice only a few of 

 the most important. Speaking generally, their 

 bodies are rather stout, and extend beyond the 

 hind wings ; their antennae are simple (rarely 

 pectinated), and their hind wings are broader than 

 the fore wings, white, grey, or brown, without 

 markings, or with only a dark spot in the middle, 

 and a dark border, and are folded beneath the hind 

 wings in repose like a fan. 



The Leucanidce, or Wainscots, mostly frequent 



marshy localities, and measure about an inch and a half across the wings. The fore wings are 

 ochreous or reddish, rarely with transverse lines, but generally with longitudinal white veins and 

 black dashes, and a few scattered black dots. The caterpillars feed either on grasses or in the 

 stems of reeds. 



Many of our commonest Moths belong to the Apamidce. . One of these is the Dark Arches 

 (Xylophdsia polyodon), a brown Moth, measuring nearly two inches across the wings ; the abdomen is 

 rather long, and tufted at the extremity. The markings are r-ather ill-defined, but there is a white 

 line near the border of the fore wings, the lower portion of which forms a W. We find this in many 

 other NoctucK. The hind wings are paler, and where they join th.3 fore wings are smooth and rather 

 iridescent. This Moth is very common in 

 gardens at dusk, and its caterpillar feeds 

 on the roots of grasses. The Cabbage 

 Moth (Mamestra brassicte) is an equally 

 common but much more destructive 

 insect. It is smaller and much darker- 

 coloured than the last species, and there 

 is a whitish U-shaped mark on the fore 

 wings. The caterpillar feeds in the heart 

 of the cabbage, and is just as mischievous 

 as those of the common White Butterflies. 

 The family Noctuidce includes a 

 great number of dull-coloured Moths, 

 which expand about an inch and a 

 half across the wings. The fore wings 

 are generally brown, with dark spots 

 bordered with palei'. The pale submar- 

 ginal line does not form a W, and the 



abdomen is not crested, or tufted. The caterpillars feed on low plants, and many of them, most!} 

 belonging to the genus Agrotis, feed on the roots of grasses at or below the surface of the ground, 

 and are called by the Americans " Cut-worms." The Moths belonging to the genus Triphcena are 

 handsomer and more conspicuous than the other species of this family, as the hind wings are yellow, 

 with a black band, varying in width according to the species, before the hind margin. They are 

 called " Yellow Undcrwings." 



The Orthosidce, or Chestnuts, include a number of smaller species, expanding about an inch and a 



CLIFDEN NONPAREIL. 



