91 
and the fore part of September, hence it must have been numerous 
here in its season. At Irvington, Washington County, where I was 
the fore part of the season, there were some, but it was not so numer¬ 
ous as some other species. 
THE CHECKERED RUSTIC —(Agrotis tassellata— Harr.) 
The larva is the Striped or Corn Cut-worm. In his second report 
made to the Agricultural Society of New York, Dr. Fitch briefly de¬ 
scribes this caterpillar under the name of the Striped Cut-worm. In 
his ninth annual report he gave the insect a more extended descrip¬ 
tion in both the moth and the larva state, and headed the article with 
the title of the Corn Cut-worm, as his studies of the habits of the 
caterpillar had convinced him that while it was a general destroyer, 
being found in the garden as well as the field, it was one that was 
very destructive to corn, though he speaks of it through the article 
as the Striped Cut-worm. The perfect insect he names maizi , desig¬ 
nating it as a variety of one named by Linnaeus nigricans. For 
some reason a doubt has existed for some time past as to the identifi¬ 
cation of Dr. Fitch’s maizi. 
Recently it has been satisfactorily determined that the moth de¬ 
scribed by Fitch was none other than the one named by Harris in his 
work ‘‘Insects Injurious to Vegetation,” Agrotis tessellata. For further 
explanation of this point see part second. 
In reference to the habits of this Cut-worm Dr. Fitch says, that in 
lune it severs the young corn and other plants half an inch above the 
ground by night, hiding itself by day slightly beneath the surface. It 
is a thick cylindrical gray worm an inch and a quarter long with 
rather faint paler and darker stripes; the top of the neck shining 
black, with three whitish stripes. They continue to work till about 
the middle of June, drawing the spears of corn and other plants they 
cut off to the mouth of their subterranean holes where they may feed 
during the day hid from their enemies. This is a habit that is com¬ 
mon to many other Cut-worms whose rapid growth during the latter 
part of their larva state seems to require that their food be taken 
cftener than it would be if they ate only during the night. The Va¬ 
riegated Cut-worm, when confined in the rearing cage away from the 
hot sun and the birds will eat nearly as much through the day as dur¬ 
ing the night in the last week or ten days of its larval state. 
The moth, according to Dr. Harris’ description, has “the fore wings 
dark ash-colored and exhibits only a faint trace of the transverse 
double wavy bands; the two ordinary spots are large and pale and al¬ 
ternate with a triangular and a square deep black spot; there is a 
smaller black spot near the base of the wing. The hind wings are 
brownish gray in the middle, and blackish behind. It expands one 
inch and a quarter.” 
The moths appear about the first of July, and after pairing lay their 
°ggs singly on the ground at the roots of grass, weeds or other vegeta¬ 
tion, upon which the young worms are to feed during the rest of the 
season ; either upon the tender succulent roots below the surface, or 
