Some British Moths Described 
where its presence can be detected by the “frass” it 
leaves behind ; so if the sand be scraped away in the 
neighbourhood, the larva hiding under the surface will 
generally be disclosed. A beautiful moth, and well 
worth the trouble of rearing. Expanse, 14 inches. 
Noctua augur: the Double Dart (Plate VIIL, Fig. 18). 
—Expanse, to 14 inches, Sure to turn up at sugar in 
June and July. The larva while quite small hibernates 
amongst dead leaves under hedgerows. It is brown, 
with small black and white spots (see Plate VIL., Fig. 7). 
It wakes up in the early spring and nibbles the tender 
blades of Grass ; later it attacks the half-open buds of the 
hedges, and finishes with Dock when nearly fully fed. 
Noctua plecta: the Flame Shoulder (Plate VIII., 
Fig. 17).—The beautiful deep crimson of the ground 
colour of this little moth soon fades from cabinet speci- 
mens; but it is very common, and my best results have 
been obtained by killing bred specimens with laurel. 
Don’t use ammonia for this species. ‘The larve hiber- 
nate, and may be found on—or, rather, under—various 
species of Bedstraw in April. We may here remark 
that nearly all these hibernating larve feed during the 
early hours of the night—that is to say, immediately 
after dark. By beating or shaking the hedgerow 
bushes, by sweeping amongst Heather, and by sweep- 
ing or picking them off blades of Grass on grassy banks 
—of course using a good lamp—a large number ot 
them may be got during April, or even earlier. Plecta 
expands to about 14 inches. 
Noctua C-Nigrum: the Hebrew Character (Plate 
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