290 



A.V EC 0X0 MIC EXTOMOLOGY. 



called from the fact that on the fore-wings there are a number of 

 short black streaks crossing the transverse lines in such a way 

 that the marks have a remote resemblance to a dagger, or to the 

 Greek letter psi, c'-. They are all of some shade of grav, varying 

 from very light ashen or nearly white to almost black ; but none 

 of them are seriously injurious. 



The more typical Noctuids are rarely seen during the day. 

 They hide under bark or stones, in out-houses, or wherever they 

 can find shelter. Occasionally they sit brazenly upon the trunks 

 of trees or branches, or openly upon stones, their colors and 

 markings blending so perfectly with their surroundings that they 

 are invisible, except to the trained eye ; but at night they are active 

 and flv readily, many of the species being attracted to light, and 

 nearly all of them to sweets : for these insects are furnished with a 

 well-developed tongue and require food. When the moths are 

 examined in the dark, their eyes are seen to glow with a deep 

 phosphorescence that is quite startling at first sight. The ento- 

 mologist makes use of their sweet tooth by what is known as 

 ''baiting" or " sugaring,"' placing a mixture of molasses, beer, 

 and rum in patches upon trees, fence-posts, or even stones, and 

 visiting them after dark with a lantern. The moths are often 

 attracted in great numbers to these lures, and many species not 

 otherwise obtainable are thus added to our collections. Many of 

 their caterpillars are known as "cut-worms," and when full- 

 grown average from an inch to an inch and a half, sometimes 

 reaching, but rarely exceeding, two inches in length. They are 

 naked, obscurely colored, usually varying from dirty gray to 

 dirty yellow-brown, generally with feebly-marked longitudinal 

 lines, and rarely with well-marked black spots. They hide 

 during the day a little below the surface of the ground at the 

 base of the plants upon which they feed, and during the night 

 come out to feed upon Avhatever vegetation they can find. Nor- 

 mally, the female moth lays her eggs in grass land after mid- 

 summer, but sometimes weedy fields are selected, or partly 

 overgrown orchards, or, in fact, any location with a sufficient 

 quantity of low vegetation to support the caterpillars. They are 

 rarely laid directly on or in the ground, but may be deposited on 

 trees, stones, or leaves. When the lar^-ae hatch, late in summer 

 or early in fall, they feed upon whatever vegetation is in the 



