ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO. 



101 



The moth is not quite as large as P. saucia.' Its head and thorax are dark brown ; 

 the fore-wings are dark brownish grey, with a purple blush ; the stigmata are clay- 

 yellow. The renal stigma often takes the form of the letter E, ; near the hind margin 

 are two small, angulated, black marks. 



Another very mischievous insect of the kind we are considering is the " glassy cut- 

 worm," Hadena devastatrix, Brace. It bites away the roots in the sod till the grass comes 

 off in patches. I have seen considerable spots in the pastures and meadows of Brome 

 laid bare by this pest. 



The eggs of the species hatch early in May ; and the larvae attain their growth in 

 about four weeks. They are glossy green in colour, with the head red, and the thoracic 

 shield dark brown. 



The moth has dark ash-grey fore-wings, with several white lines across them and 

 some angulated black spots near the hind margin. The stigmata are black, outlined with 

 white. 



These cut -worms have been very destructive to meadows in the past, and may be 

 again ; and it is possible that other species may become so. 



Another group of the noctuidee injurious to meadows belongs to the genus Leucania. 

 A very common species in the group is Leucania pallens, Linn., the "Wainscot moth." 

 It may be known by its sandy fore-wogs finely lined with a little darker colour, and by 

 the three tiny black dots arranged in a triangle beyond the middle of the wing. It has 

 white satiny hind-wings with a few brown streaks. 



Leucania Henrici, Grote has dull white fore-wings with pale brown streaks. It has 

 no black dots, and the hind-wings are clear satiny white. 



Leucania commoides, Gn. is a much darker species, and may be known by the white 

 line in the middle of the fore- wing thrown out by dark brown on either side, and branch- 

 ing into white lines with dark brown streaks between them. The hind-wings are dark 

 with dark brown veins. 



Leucania albilinea, Hubner is the smallest of the Canadian species known to n*e. It 

 is not so dark as commoides, and the white central streak is branchless. This streak is 



thrown out by a brown one on 



the inner side, and, on the outer, 



by another which widens as it ap- 

 proaches the hind margin where 



it spreads on both sides. There 



is also a paler brown stripe along 



the costa The secondaries are 



clouded towards the hind margins 

 Fl £- 88 - and have brown veins. Eig. 89 



represents the eggs much magnified, and the caterpillars on an 

 ear of wheat. 



The two largest of our Quebec Leucanians are L. unipuncta 

 Harv. (the Army-worm moth), and L. pseudargyria Guen. They 

 somewhat resemble each other, but Unipuncta is of a pale red- 

 dish brown, or russet hue. Pseudargyria is of the tint known 

 in the old country as " whity-brown." Moreover Unipuncta 

 has a small but conspicuous milk-white dot in the middle of 

 the fore-wing — hence its name. In place of it Pseudargyria 

 has a pale circle, sometimes imperfect, enclosing a black dot. 



When I went to live in Montreal in 1861, ( " the Army- 

 worm year " ), I noticed, on the Oote-des-Neiges' road, on the 

 wall enclosing the " Priests' Earm," a broad black line, about 

 two feet from the ground, extending the whole length of the 

 wall. I found it was of tar ; and, on enquiring as to its pur- 

 pose, I was told that it was intended to stop the Army-worm 

 in its march from the mountain. 



L unipuncta the One- spotted Leucanian lays its small, 



