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Cut-Worms. 7 



M. Treitschke speaks of the ravages caused in 1833 and 1834, in the 

 vineyards in the environs of Vienna by caterpillars of aquilina, 

 which devoured the leaves, the blossoms and the buds, and I have 

 myself seen roses attacked by the caterpillar of segetum. 



Habits of the Moths. 

 Most of them are nocturnal. A few species fly by day and may 

 be found during the autumnal months feeding upon the nectar of 

 flowers, as upon those of the golden-rod (Solidago). But by far the 

 larger number come abroad only at night to feed, passing the day, 

 in sleep probably, in various hiding places, as in crevices of walls, 

 piles of wood and stone, under the bark of trees, behind closed 

 blinds of dwellings where they have been attracted during the even- 

 ing by lights— in short, in any dark, 

 secluded place or crevice into which sm ^ 

 their closely-folded wings permit them fp||!|^ 

 to creep. Their entrance into crevices 

 or apertures apjDarently too small for %4_L_/ : ^ 



their admission, is facilitated by the „ 



J m Fig. io.— Agkotis subgothica, the 



habit belonging to many of the species Gothic Dart-Moth. (After Fitch.) 



of folding their front wings one over the other by the overlapping 

 of their inner margin, and holding them almost parallel to the 

 plane of position. In this attitude the greatest breadth of the 

 moth across the folded wings exceeds but little the diameter of 

 the body. 



Although strongly muscular in their build, and capable of vigor- 

 ous flight, when driven up from their concealment they fly but a 

 short distance before they alight and seek a hiding place — much 

 after the manner of the Hesj^eridce among the butterflies, com- 

 monly known as " skippers." Fig. 10 shows one of the common 

 species, the Gothic Dart-Moth, Agrotis subgothica (Haworth). 



Natural History. 

 From the differences observed in the species known to us, it is 

 not possible to give a satisfactory account of the life-history of 

 cut-worms as a class. They require to be separately discussed. 

 It may be stated, however, that the eggs from which the cater- 

 pillars proceed are placed usually upon some low plant, whence 

 the young when hatched may easily reach the food that they 

 require. It was formerly supposed, by Kollar and others, that 

 the eggs were laid in the ground, but we are not aware of any 



