NOCTUIDS. 
75 
gray-brown. This insect lias a crest on the forward part of the 
thorax, and from this fact is called the hooded owlet. The cater¬ 
pillar feeds on golden rod. 
/ 
Pyropliila pyramidoides. 
Pyrophila pyramidoides is a common moth with brown fore wings 
crossed by wavy lines of dark brown and black, while the hind wings 
are copper colored and brown. The whole upper surface of the 
insect is very glossy. In September this insect may be found on 
fences and tree-trunks and I have sometimes dislodged a number of 
them when stripping the loosened bark from dead tree-trunks in 
search of beetles. The food plants of the larva are the grape and 
Virginia creeper. 
A very interesting species in the larval state is Bellura gortynides , 
which lives in the leaf stems of the pond lily, having a communica¬ 
tion with the air through a hole in the leaf. When feeding it 
descends below the surface of the water to a distance, according to 
Comstock, of two feet or more. The perfect insect is brownish, and 
expands an inch and a half. 
Mamestra picta. 
A beautifully marked insect in the caterpillar state is Mamestra 
picta and the larva goes by the appropriate name of the zebra worm. 
