148 ZOOLOGY. 



The Grass-root Motli (Hadena monoglypha, or 

 H. polyodon). 



Moth : About -J of an inch long ; span of wing If 

 inches. Fore wings longish; yellow brown blended 

 with dark brown and white; the, tips are coloured 

 most brightly. Three black rays on the fore wing ; 

 hind wings brown grey. Caterpillar : About 1| inches 

 long, J of an inch broad, with sixteen feet. Grey or 

 reddish white, more or less shining. Head, pro- 

 thorax, the last body-segment and warts black. At 

 the end of July and during August the female lays 

 her eggs separately on the bases of grass haulms and 

 leaves. The caterpillars creep out at the end of 

 August, and, especially after their hybernation (in 

 April and May), attack meadow grasses, biting through 

 the leaves and haulms at their bases, immediately 

 above the surface of the ground, and devouring, as it 

 were, passages through the grass. The reddish-brown 

 pupae rest in the soil. 



The Couch-grass Moth (Hadena hasilinea). 



Moth: Nearly | of an inch long; span of wings 1| 

 inches. Head and back rust-coloured or reddish grey, 

 in the male with a large tuft of hairs. Fore wings 

 coloured like the back, with two transverse Unes in 

 the middle, and brighter and darker marks as welL 

 Hind wings bright brown, with a faint golden sheen, 

 and with a yellowish fringe. Caterpillar: If to 1| 

 inches long, with sixteen feet, bluish grey, somewhat 

 brownish, with dirty white longitudinal lines ; green- 

 ish belly, and large bright brown head. The moth 

 lays the eggs in little heaps on the stems and leaves 

 of grass plants. The damage which the caterpillars 

 effect among meadow grasses is inconsiderable; but 

 they sometimes appear in considerable numbers on 

 grain-plants, and are then very destructive. The 



