58 
A. COTTAM-NOTES ON THE HABITS 
to try sugaring for them. Again, when the lime-trees are in flower 
or the ivy is in bloom, it is useless to sugar. The blossom of the 
ivy will attract numbers of the autnmn moths, and they are easily 
caught by gently shaking the ivy over an open umbrella (inverted, 
of course), when the moths will fall into it, helplessly intoxicated. 
A few of the genera can never he attracted by sugar, and can 
only he taken flying over flowers. The Plusm, for instance, and 
the Dianthcecice , all the species of which feed upon the pink tribe 
(.Dianthus , etc.), must be sought for flying at dusk over those flowers. 
Many plants are fertilised by moths, and it is worthy of note 
that the flowers of these are generally white or of a light colour, 
which shows in the twilight, and also that, though they may have 
no scent in the day, they become deliciously fragrant towards 
evening. The large white campion ( Lychnis vespertina) and the 
white tobacco are instances of this. 
Many species of the JNoctuse are among our commonest moths, 
and must be well known to most people. The large yellow under¬ 
wing and the common gamma or silver y must surely he familiar 
to everyone. 
The moths in this group have the upper wings more or less 
narrow in proportion to their length; the under wings are often 
more ample and are closely folded under the upper wings, and 
concealed by them when the insect is at rest. Throughout the 
group the upper wings have markings of a similar character, more 
or less distinct. They are three spots, one near the base of the 
wing, circular or nearly so, which is known as the orbicular stigma ; 
a second spot above it is kidney-shaped, and is known as the 
reniform stigma ; while a third, which is not always present, is 
wedge-shaped, and is called the claviform stigma. The almost 
constant presence of two at least of these three markings, some¬ 
times varied in size and often in colour, makes the task of describing 
them comparatively easy. 
Most of the Noctuse hybernate as pupae, some as larvae, and 
a few in the perfect state. Several of the autumn species that are 
attracted by the ivy blossom can be taken again in the Spring, 
after hybernation, at the sallow-bloom. 
A few species fly in the hot sunshine, but as a rule the Noctuae 
are very sluggish during the day, and exceedingly clever at 
concealing themselves. They frequently hide among herbage and 
at the roots of grasses, and it is next to impossible to And or 
disturb them. I recollect an interesting experience I once had. 
I had gone up a Welsh valley at the back of Cader Idris, and for 
about half an hour I saw hardly an insect on the wing. Suddenly 
the whole hillside was alive with moths, hundreds of them, flying 
wildly over and among the grass. I found that they were the 
antler moth ( Chareas graminis ), the larva of which is commonly 
destructive to the grass on upland pastures. The flight lasted for 
about twenty minutes, and then, as suddenly as they had appeared, 
every moth vanished; not one was visible, and although they had 
settled down and hidden themselves in the grass, it was impossible 
