The Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis (Euxoa) puta).
As will be seen by the figures on Plate [104], the sexes of this species also differ greatly in colour. Usually the cross lines on the fore wings of the male do not show up so distinctly as in
Fig. 2, which closely approaches a form figured and described as radiola by Stephens in 1829. Fig. 5 represents the typical blackish-brown female. Gynandrous specimens, one side ♂ the other ♀, have been recorded. The caterpillar feeds on dandelion, lettuce, knotgrass, and other low-growing plants, from September to April; probably full grown before hibernation. The moth, which is out in July and August, sometimes in May, is partial to low-lying, marshy ground and meadows, and is widely distributed over the whole of the south of England, but it is seemingly rare in the north, and still more so in Scotland and Ireland. Barrett states that it has been found commonly in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
The Crescent Dart (Agrotis (Euxoa) lunigera).
Although its position in classification is that of a local form of A. trux, Hübn., this moth, which is figured on Plate [105], Figs. 1♂, 2♀, may here retain the name that was given to it by Stephens in 1829. Except that it has been reported to occur in the north of France, it seems to be peculiar to the British Isles. The earliest known specimens were captured near Cork in Ireland, June, 1826, and it is now found not only on the coasts of Cork and Kerry, but also on the Hill of Howth, near Dublin. In England it occurs in the Isle of Wight, Dorsetshire (Portland), Devonshire (Torquay), Cornwall, and the Scilly Isles. Reported from Sussex in 1918. In Wales it is to be found above Barmouth, and in various parts of South Wales; and in Scotland around Edinburgh and on the Moray coast. The moth is out in July and August. Mr. A. E. Gibbs, writing of this species in Cornwall, remarks, "It is generally stated that A. lunigera is only to be taken on steep and dangerous cliffs, in places where sugaring is by no means a safe occupation; but its abundance at Polzeath showed that this is not invariably the case. Here it was found on posts and flower heads in the valley at some
distance from the seashore, and so abundantly did it occur that one evening's work yielded upwards of fifty specimens."
The caterpillar is greyish or greenish grey, inclining to brownish above, and with darker brown marks on the back; lines paler, edged sometimes with darker grey; raised spots blackish, rather glossy; head brownish, marked with black, and the plate on first ring is black with a central yellow line. It feeds from August to May on various low plants growing in rocky places by the sea. Will eat dandelion, plantain, and knotgrass in confinement, also sliced carrot.
The Coast Dart (Agrotis (Euxoa) cursoria).
The specimens whose portraits will be found on Plate [106] are more or less typical of the sexes of this most variable species. The ground colour of the fore wings ranges from whitish ochreous through all shades of brown up to dark reddish, and from whitish grey through leaden grey to brown grey. The markings, too, are exceedingly variable; the cross lines are often faint, sometimes entirely absent; the stigmata are frequently obscure, and occasionally the blackish lower part of the reniform is the only indication of these marks. There is often a white streak along the costa, and in some specimens this is very conspicuous (Figs. 3♂, 4♀).
The caterpillar feeds from September to June on various grasses growing on sandhills, and is said to eat wormwood and violet. It is ochreous in colour, more or less tinged with green; the lines are pale grey, edged with darker grey; spots brown, and head ochreous brown.