Lepidoptera of Devon and Cornwall. 
103 
Family.— HELIOTHID^E, Gn. 
Gen. HlSZiIOTHIS, Och. 
331. K. margrinata, Fab. 
Noctua marginata, Fab. Ent. Sys. — Mant. .166. 
Heliothis marginata, West. <fc Hum. Brit. Moth. i. 236, pi. 53, fig. 1.— Staint. 
Man. i. 291. 
Local, and not uncommon. Comes to " sugar," and is also 
attracted by artificial light. 
App. — May — July. 
Loc. — Hoe, Plymouth ; Bovisand ; Whitsand-heights ; Cremill ; 
— Torquay, Dr. B. ; Teignmouth, Dr. J. 
The layva is very common in some localities during the latter 
part of summer, feeding on Ononis. 
332. K. peltig-era, ScUff. 
Noctua pdtigera, Schiff. Wien. Verz. 
Heliothis peltigera, West. & Hum. Brit. Moth. 236, pi. 5B, fig. 2.— Staint. Man. 
i. 291. 
More frequent on the coast than inland. Has a wide range 
coastwise in the two westernmost counties. So uncertain however 
are the seasons of its occurrence, that it might with propriety be 
termed either very common or very rare. 
In the years 1853-'4 the larv6R of this insect were found in great 
abundance in most of the bays that skirt the coast, from Looe 
Island to Berryhead ; — many patches of Ononis var. spinosa, cover- 
ing an area of not more than two feet superficial, yielding as 
many as 300 larv^. More than a thousand were collected, and 
many left in all likelihood to the number of thousands. It ap- 
peared thus plentifully during the two seasons mentioned ; but 
since those periods the insect in any stage, has not been observed in 
numbers that would warrant its being considered common. In- 
deed, throughout whole seasons not one specimen falls to the share 
of even the industrious Lepidopterist. 
The larvcB vary considerably in colour. As many variations are 
to be seen in this as are met with in its congener H. marginata. 
The two forms described below are those usually found. 
