452 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARTHROPODS. 



dahlia, aster, and other plants. It has also been found eating into the cobs of growing 

 corn, and into strawberries. 



The zebra caterpillar, Mamestra picta, is a common species in the United States. 

 The moth expands about an inch and a half, and the fore wings are of a beautiful rich 

 purplish-brown color. The renifoi'm and small orbicular spots are grayish, while the 

 usual lines are generally wanting. The head and thorax are of the same color as the 

 fore wings. The hind wings are white, tinged with brownish along the outer edge. 

 The mature caterpillar is about two inches in length, of a velvety black color, with two 

 lateral yellow stripes on each side, between which are numerous irregular, fine, transverse, 

 white lines. The head and legs are reddish. This is one of our most beautiful naked 

 caterpillars. When done feeding it transforms to a pupa in a rude cocoon formed just 

 beneath the surface of the ground, where it passes the winter. There are two broods 

 in a year in some parts of the country. This species feeds on a great variety of plants, 

 among which are many of the Cruciferae, as cabbage, turnip, etc., and also on clover, 

 honeysuckle, snowberry, and many others. 



The caterpillars of a large number of moths, belonging,mainly to the genus Agrotis, 

 are called cut-worms, because of their remaining beneath the ground during the day, 

 and coming up in the night to feed on plants, often when only a few inches high, 

 which they cut off near the surface of the ground. Some of them, however, ascend 

 trees and greatly injure the buds and leaves. These are called climbing cut-worms. 

 The variegated cut-worm, Agrotis saucia, one of the climbing species, which is widely 

 distributed both in Europe and America, expands an inch and three-quarters. The 

 fore wings are of a grayish-brown color marked with brownish black but subject 

 to great variation. The hind wings are whitish, shaded with pale brown towards the 

 outer margin. The eggs are "round and flattened, of a pinkish color, and very 

 prettily ribbed and ornamented." They are laid on the twigs of trees, in elongated 

 patches containing several hundred arranged side by side. The young caterpillars are 

 of a dull-yellowish color with darker spots. They remain on the trees till after the 

 first moult, when they descend and conceal themselves in the ground during the day. 

 The mature caterpillar is nearly two inches long when in motion, and is of a dull 

 flesh-color, mottled with brown and black, with elongated, velvety black markings on 

 each side. The caterpillar, when done feeding, forms a smooth, oval cavity in the 

 ground, in which it passes its transfoi-mations. These caterpillars feed on the leaves 

 of apple, cherry, peach, and various other plants. 



The North American species, Apatela oblinitct, which expands about an inch and 

 three-quarters, has gray fore wings with a row of blackish dots along the outer margin, 

 and a broken, transverse posterior line. The reniform and orbicular spots, and also 

 the transverse anterior line, are faintly indicated by black scales. The hind wings are 

 white, with a few minute dark spots along the outer margin. The mature caterpillar 

 is about an inch and a quarter in length, " of a deep velvety-black color, with a trans- 

 verse row of tubercles on each segment, those above being bright red, and set in a 

 band of the same color extending down each side. From each tubercle there arises 

 a tuft of hairs, those on the upper part of the body being red, while below they are 

 yellowish "or mixed with yellow. On each side of the middle of the back is a row of 

 bright yellow spots, two or more on each segment, and below these, close to the under 

 surface, a bright yellow band deeply indented on each segment." This caterpillar is 

 very beautiful, and cannot fail to attract attention when present on the plants even in 

 'small numbers. When done feeding, it di-aws together a few leaves or other loose 



