57 
Harris, who described it as new under the impression that it was 
native, giving it the name of Agrotis inermis or unarmed rustic moth 
(Rept. Ins. Mass. Inj. to Veg., 1841, p. 323). 
This was the first of the twelve species of cutworms treated by the 
late Dr. Riley in his first Report on Insects of Missouri (1868, p. 72). 
It was reported as doing considerable damage to grapevines grown in 
cold frames. Mention was made of the finding of egg masses of this 
insect on twigs of apple and mulberry trees, the account concluding 
with descriptions of all stages, which were also figured. 
In Departmental publications this species has received brief notice 
in the Annual Report for 1881 (pp. 298, 299), and in Insect Life it is 
mentioned in connection with injuries to carnations (Vols. II, p. 376, 
and IV, p. 105). In the case of injury last cited, 400 or 500 buds were 
destined in one greenhouse in less than a month. In the same publi- 
cation serious depredations to potato, cabbage, and tomato plants in 
Arkansas are noted (Vol. Ill, p. 149). 
In later years various accounts were given, one of the best by Dr. 
Lintner, who furnished a bibliography up to 1888, his account appear- 
ing the year following (Fifth Report Ins. N. Y., pp. 200-206). 
A good account, with original figures, was given by Mr. M. V. Sling- 
erland in 1895 (Bui. 104, Cornell Univ. Agl. Expt. Sta., pp. 579-584). 
This species was considered in a paper entitled "Insects infesting 
carnations," and published by F. A. Sirrine in the American Florist 
for March 3, 1900, page 912. He stated that this cutworm, with the 
cabbage looper, was the worst of the transient pests in greenhouses 
where carnations were grown. Indications were that this cutworm 
enters forcing houses not by being introduced in the soil but through 
eggs deposited by the parent moth in the houses after transplanting. 
An earlier account of injury by this cutworm to carnations was 
given by Dr. E. P. Felt (Country Gentleman, May 11, 1899). He 
stated that the leaves were not only considerably eaten, but the buds 
had also been excavated, and in one or two cases the cutworm was 
found nearly hidden in the almost empty calyx. 
Since the present bulletin was prepared for publication Messrs. 
R, TV Doane and D. A. Brodie have issued a 16-page publication 
upon this insect as Bulletin 47 of the Washington State experiment 
station. The account in question has particular reference to the inva- 
sion of 1900, and includes, besides, a brief history of this species and 
its introduction, description of the different stages, and its life history, 
as far as known, the article concluding with a list of parasites and a 
consideration of remedies. 
LIST OF FOOD PLANTS. 
The list of plants on which this insect is known to feed can be 
inferred from the preceding to be a very long one, including as it does 
plants differing widely botanically as well as in flavor and texture. 
