438 
LEPIDOPTERA. 
numbers at some seasons and are almost omnivorous so far as crops and 
low herbage is concerned. There are several varieties of the moth? 
the var. confusa which is suffused with red being a common one. 
Amsacta lineola, Fabr. ( Creatonotus emittens ), A. lactinea, Cr. 5 and A. 
Moorei, Butl., are found in the plains, being destructive to a variety of 
Fig. 302— Amsacta lactinea larva, full grown x 2. 
crops. Their larvae are densely clothed in dark hair and appear in swarms 
in the rainy season. The moths may be distinguished by their colouring. 
Amsacta albistriga , Wlk. (figs. 299, 300), is recorded from South India, 
where it feeds upon groundnut. (Indian Mus. Notes, Y, p. 50.) Creatonotus 
gangis , Linn. ( interruptus ), is also common, the larva hairy with a yellow 
stripe, the moth pinkish with a broad black fascia on the forewing. 
Estigmene perrotteti, Guer. (Alphsea biguttata), is a beautiful moth, 
the forewing black with a longitudinal white fascia, the hindwing red 
with black blotches, found widely over the moister parts of India. With 
it is E. vittata , Mo., found principally in the Mysore and Nilgiri plateau. 
Pericallia ricini, Fabr., is a striking insect, the forewing grey-brown, 
with series of dark spots with light edges, the hindwing scarlet with black 
bands. The hairy caterpillar 
is a pest to castor and Cu- 
curbitacece, and is general 
over India. Utetheisa pul- 
chella, Linn., is a common 
species in the plains, the 
moth flitting about herbage 
in the day. It is widely 
scattered over the old world. 
The brightly coloured Fig. 303— Amsacta lactinea (I. M. N.). 
