AND THEIU TRANSFORMATIONS. J05 



FAMILY IX.— NOCTUID/E, Stephen-.s. 



AVe are now arrived at a family of very great extent, and tolerably v/eW defined in its cliaracters ; the body 

 being generally robust, the antenme almost constantly simple, being but rarely pectinated or ciliated in the 

 males, the thorax stoat and often crested, and tlie winps of moderate size with strong nervures, and Generally 

 with ]ieculiar ear-like spots on the disc of the fon; wings ; the mouth is also well developed, the spiral tongue 

 or maxilUe being greatly elongated. The wings in repose are ordinarily deflexed at the sides of the body, the 

 labial pal|)i of modi rate length, terminated suddenly by a small or very slender point, the preceding being very 

 long and compressed. The body is clothed with scales, rather than with a coating of a woolly nature. The 

 abdomen is elongate and conical in form, and but rarely as robust as in the Bonibycidas. 



Tiie larvcB exhibit several modifications, but in the majority they are naked, with sixteen feet ; in some the 

 first, and in others, the first and second pairs of the ventral feet are wanting. The anal feet, on the other 

 hand, are always present. They are usually solitary, not residing in a web, neither are they subcutaneous ; but 

 those of the genus Ceropacha twist up leaves similarly to those of the Tortricida^. These larvaj usually undergo 

 their transformations under ground in cocoons, often formed of particles of earth mixed in with the silk. The 

 pupas arc almost invariably of the ordinary conical form, with the head part rounded ; those of Calophasia 

 Linariae (Do Gcer, Slenioires, vol. ii. pi. 8, fig. 1 — 6,) and of the Cuculliss, or Shark-moths, have the tongue- 

 case greatly elongated. 



Mr. Stephens observes, " that the typical groups of this famil}', as their name imports, fly only by night, 

 and repose during the day in the crevices of the bark of trees, old walls, palings," &c. ; thougii others fly not 

 only by night, but also during the afternoon and at twilight. The position of the wings during repose varies 

 much; in some groups (Triphaina, &c.) they arc placed horizontally, and closely applied to the body, giving 

 the insect a somewhat cylindrical form ; in others (Catocala, &c.) they are also placed hurizontally, but some- 

 what expanded, and forming a triangle ; in others (as Plusia) they arc considerably deflexed, and the thorax 

 is greatly crested. There is also considerable diversity in the form of the wings, though in general the anterior 

 ones are elongate-triangular, and the posterior somewhat triangular-orbiculate ; some few have the posterior 

 margins denticulated, and the anterior wings are mostly adorned with two stigmata, one more or less circular, 

 the other kidney-shaped : a character rarely observed in any other family in this order. The colours of these 

 insects are ordinarily very sombre, agreeing with their nocturnal habits ; but in some wliicli are accustomed to 

 fly by day, we find the fore wings, and occasionally also the hind ones, more gaily ornamental. This is the 

 case with the Catocalas or scarlet underwing moths, whilst the Plusiaj are adorned with patches of silver or gold 

 on the fore wings. Some of the latter may occasionally bo observed during the day darting about and hovering 

 over long-tubed flowers, into which they insert their long spiral tongue. 



The family corresponds with the Linntean section Phakena Noctua, and comprises nearly 800 (of which about 

 400 are British) species, mostly of a large or moderate size, divided by Mr. Stephens into about eighty genera, 

 often resting upon minute structural differences. In the work of Ochsenhcimer, the family consists of forty-two 

 genera, most of which correspond with the sections in the family proposed in the Wiener Vcrzeichniss. The 

 classification of the family is certainly a matter of great difficulty, owing to the extreme similarity in the general 

 appearance of the species, and which is greatly increased by the exotic species having been almost entirely 

 neglected ; although it is evident, from the figures of many species given by Drury, Cramer, Abbot and 

 Smith, &c., that the extra-European species exhibit even greater diversity of form than those of Europe. 



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