202 
Head, chestnut brown. Venter, crimson black, with bristle-bearing 
warts of the same color. Stigmata, oblong oval and pale. Thoracic 
legs, black; prolegs with black extremities.—Riley. 
Moth .—-Expanse from 1.35 to 1.50 inches. Fore wings rather nar¬ 
row, pointed, light gray marked with darker gray ana the black 
points into which the usual transverse lines are broken, the t. p. line 
being, the only one that is distinct, and that strongly angulated. 
Terminal dots good size, black. Hind wings white, a few small black 
terminal dots. The shoulder tufts tipped a little with black. An¬ 
tennae brown, white above in the basalhalf. 
CUT-WORMS. 
The following species of Agrotis, Mamestra and Hadena are, with the 
exception of one or two introduced for comparison, known to be in 
the larva state injurious to cultivated crops and are generally called 
cut worms. For a general description of their habits and history and 
for explanations of some terms used in connection with the cater¬ 
pillars, see the same subject under Corn Insects. The remedies for 
this class of insects that are not already given in the article referred 
to, will be given at the close of the group. 
Agrotis c-nigrum, Linn.—The Black C Rustic. 
The larva is the Spotted Cut-worm. 
This species is commonly distributed, and often takes a prominent 
place in cutting off plants in the garden and fields. While it feeds 
in those places it evidently lives as readily upon grass, and possibly 
upon the leaves and buds of trees. By referring to my note book I 
find that I took two specimens last season at Irvington, one a chrysa¬ 
lis without any cocoon hid in the grass at the roots of a soft maple 
{Acer dasycarpum ), April 28, and a few days after a caterpillar at the 
roots of a peach tree. C. E. Worthington, of Chicago, and Thomas E. 
Bean, of Galena, mention this species as occurring in both those places. 
Since writing the above, and before this goes to press, I have had a 
chance to make further observations on this species. They were found 
the present season (1878) in greater abundance as an early cut-worm, 
than any other species, in time varying from March 13th to April 2d. 
All except one of those found between these dates had passed the last 
moult. As this has been an unusually early season, they may be 
looked for ordinarily a month later. When full grown, they are an 
inch and a quarter long, with the color, as found this year, an almost 
uniform dark greasy gray, lighter underneath, with two rows of elon¬ 
gated black patches along the back. These patches occupy the pos¬ 
terior two thirds of each segment, and are more distinct on the poster¬ 
ior part of the body than the anterior. Previous to the worm casting 
