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the Lepidoptera of St. Helena. 
Agrotis seems to have hut two representatives in the island; 
indeed I myself only observed one , namely the obliviosa —a 
species which appears at Helena to take the place, as it were, 
of the common A. segetum of the British Isles, the former 
being in like manner a pest to certain of the crops. There 
is decidedly no group of Lepidoptera in the island which is 
so devastating; and yet although somewhat annoying to 
the farmers at stated seasons, it is by no means so destructive 
(in the larva condition) as members of the same family often 
are in other countries; for in the case of the latter one can 
scarcely realize what utter devastation they are capable of 
causing, small though they be. 
Genus 5. Apamea, Ochsenh. 
Apamea subvelata. 
Apamea subvelata, Walk, in Melliss, St. Hel. 184 (1875). 
I only met with a few examples of this Apamea —one of 
which recedes from the others in having the surface through¬ 
out of a darker tint, and in the orbicular stigma being repre¬ 
sented by a very small, almost black, and somewhat X-shaped 
streak. 
Mr. Moore informs me that it is near our English A. una- 
nimis. However, this particular species seems peculiar to 
St. Helena, where it frequents the loftier heights, chiefly in 
the localities which are more particularly characterized by the 
u cabbage-tree ” flora. 
Genus 6 . Perigea, Guen. 
Perigea punctosa, Walk. 
This species is not by any means uncommon in the island; 
however I did not meet with either the caterpillar or chrysalis 
of it. The moth seems fond of concealing itself beneath, or 
by the side of, stones which lie on the surface of the ground, 
and is very easily disturbed in the daytime. Most of my 
specimens were obtained at Plantation in the dusk of the 
evening. It may at all times be easily distinguished from 
any of the other St.-Helena Noctuids by its broader wings, as 
well as by its almost white orbicular stigma. 
Genus 7. Peodenia, Guen. 
Prodenia littoralis , Boisd. 
This prettily variegated Prodenia abounds in St. Helena, 
especially at intermediate elevations. lu the caterpillar-state 
15* 
