quarters of an inch in length, with dart, longitudinal markings, and
a white spot on each wing; rather abundant on the high land,
where it flies into houses at night, two or three at a time. The
larva is the large fat brown caterpillar, which is so very destructive
in gardens. The chrysalis is of a mahogany colour, generally buried
without much protection under the surface of the soil, and chiefly
under grass borders of flower beds. I t inhabits also Nbrth and
South America, Hindostán, Australia, and New Zealand.
L. punctosa, Treit.—A pale grey Moth, about an inch in
length, with a small white spot in the centre of each wing, and a
double row of small black spots along the extremities of the
wings. The caterpillar is smooth, in colour light brown, with dark
brown (approaching to black at each joint) and nearly white longitudinal
markings. When about to change to the chrysalis it conceals
itself under stones. Inhabits also South Europe.
Fam. OrthosideB.
Anchoscelis, Gruén.
*A. insularis, Walk.—Of this native Moth, Mr. Walker gives the
following description:— “Male brown, cinereous beneath. Front
with two black bands. Palpi porrect, hardly extending beyond the
head; t h i r d joint conical, less than one-fourth of the length of the
second. Antennae minutely, pubescent. Abdomen and hmdwmgs
cinereous, the former crested near the base. Forewings with three
irregular undulating double transverse lines ; first line very near the
base; second antemedial; third postmedial; orbicular and reniform
marks white, of the usual form. Hindwings brown about the
exterior border. Length of the body six lines; expansion ot the
forewings fifteen lines. Female ochraceous, stout. Palpi porrectj
not extending beyond the head; third joint minute, short-conical,
not more than one-sixth of the length of the second. Abdomen
brown ; apical tuft ochraceous. Forewings, with the orbicular mark,
represented by a whitish, blaekish-bordered point, which is contiguous
to a black zigzag transverse lin e ; reniform, represented by a narrow
black lunule whose disk is of the ground colour; an exterior white
blaekish-bordered zigzag line, which forms the inner border of a
brownish band, whose outer border is incompletely blackish;
underside with a blackish disk, excepting a space which includes
the orbicular and reniform marks, which are black and very large.
Hindwings with a dark-brown lunule in the disk, and with a very
broad dark-brown marginal band; fringe cinereous. Length of the
body seven lines; expansion of the forewings eighteen lines.” It is
easily recognised by its brick-red colour, with brown and white
markings, and dark-brown silky underwings. The caterpillar is of
an opaque green, or light brown, or flesh colour, marked with very
fine longitudinal lines, and very slightly hairy ; it measures about an
inch and a quarter in length, and usually feeds upon geraniums and
other garden plants on the high land. The chrysalis is of a light
mahogany colour.
Fam. Noctuidce.
Agrotis, Ochs.
A. obliviosa, Walk.—This Moth inhabits also South Africa, but
it almost seems to be a native of the Island. I t is of a brown colour,
measuring about three-quarters of an inch in length; the outer wings
are marked transversely, with one or two dark-brown waved lines
and several large spots ; the under wings much resemble white silk;
the legs are dark-brown spotted with white. Its larva is the
common blue or black garden grub, which is such a pest to farmers
and gardeners. I t lives in the soil, and destroys whole fields-
of vegetation. When changing to the chrysalis (which is of a light
amber colour) it envelopes itself in a coating of earth, the exterior
of which somewhat resembles a small walnut, the cavity inside being
spacious and perfectly smooth. Q-eneral Beatson made a series of
careful experiments with these grubs, which he found to be entirely
vegetable feeders, so that the best mode of ridding the land of them
is to starve them by a clean fallow during the warm dry weather.
These exceedingly troublesome creatures are not, however, without
their natural enemies, as I discovered after having kept several of them
in a box for a week. They shrivelled away, and a small brown ovule
forced its way through the skin from the inside of each, which, in
about three weeks, developed into a species of fly somewhat like the
common house fly. m jl
*A. pallidula, Walk.—Of this native, Mr. Walker gives the following
description :—■“ Female pale fawn colour. Body whitish
beneath. Antennae slender. Palpi obliquely ascending, not rising
to the height of the vertex, densely clothed witb short hairs ; third