THE IjAHVM 



OF THE 



BKITISH MOTHS 



Agrotis puta. 

 Plate LXX, fig. 3. 



Thanks to the kindness of the Rev. J. Hellins 

 and Dr. Hearder, the larva of Agrotis puta, that 

 has so long remained unknown, is now figured and 

 described. 



Eggs were sent by Dr. Hearder to Mr. Hellins, 

 August 29th, 1867, from which larvae were hatched, 

 September 2nd, and, as they showed at first a pre- 

 ference for lettuce, they were reared on that plant, 

 varied occasionally with slices of the root of garden 

 carrot. 



Mr. Hellins tried some of them in a flower-pot with 

 growing plants of dandelions and knot-grass, both of 

 which plants were eaten, but apparently not so freely 

 as the lettuce ; but the worst part of the business was 

 that the soil in the pot was infested with little earth- 

 leeches, which destroyed most of the larvse. The 

 rest were treated in the same manner as we had 

 been accustomed to deal with A. rijpse ; i.e., placed 

 in a large pot with a quantity of sea-sand, their food 

 vol .v. 1 



