AGROTIS CURSORIA. 17 



Agrotjs CURSORIA. 

 Plate LXXI, fig. 7. 



This is one of the many species I owe to the kind- 

 ness of Mr. 0. G. Barrett, since he has turned his 

 attention to the insect fauna of the coast of Norfolk. 



On September 4th, 1869, he sent me a dozen moths 

 (mostly females) alive ; and in the course of a week 

 some of them laid batches of eggs in little clustered 

 groups of about forty or fifty, and also a few single 

 ones scattered amongst the sand in their prison. 

 These eggs I soon after conveyed to what seemed a 

 promising spot for a future colony at a sand-hill on the 

 coast, with the intention of looking after their larval 

 produce in the following summer ; but my friend 

 spared me all that trouble by sending me a number of 

 the larvae, in different stages of growth, on June 11th, 

 1870, and a further supply on the 20th ; these all fed 

 well on Arenaria peploides, Viola Curtisii, Triticum 

 junceum, etc., and became full-fed towards the end of 

 June, when they burrowed deep into the sand for 

 pupation, and the perfect insects made their appear- 

 ance from the 1st to the 12th of August. 



The egg of A. cursoria is rather small in proportion 

 to the size of the moth, nearly globular, flattened a 

 little at the base, very finely ribbed and reticulated, 

 and of a flesh colour. 



The larva when young is long and slender for an 

 Agrotis ; but, as it approaches half-growth, it becomes 

 of tolerably stout proportions, and, when full-grown, 

 is very decidedly plump. Its form is cylindrical, 

 tapering a little at the first three segments, the head 

 being the smallest, though full and rounded in outline ; 

 it tapers also on the two hinder segments ; the seg- 

 mental divisions and sub-dividing wrinkles are very 

 well defined. 



The colouring varies according to its size, but the 

 head and the plate on the second segment are invari- 



vol. v. 2 



