The moth is on the wing from late July to early September, and is to be found on all the larger tracts of sandhills on the east coast from Suffolk northwards, and on the coasts of Cheshire and Lancashire. It is not common on our southern coasts, but occurs in Dorsetshire and Devon. In Scotland it is obtained
on the Firth of Forth, Kincardine, and Aberdeen coasts, and also in the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland Isles; and on very many parts of the coast of Ireland.
The Garden Dart (Agrotis (Euxoa) nigricans).
This moth is typically sooty or blackish brown in both sexes (Plates 106, Figs. 5♂, 6♀), but varies to pale brown, or through various shades of red brown. The markings, usually obscure, occasionally are well defined, and sometimes there are additional black spots and pale streaks. The caterpillar is pale or dark ochreous brown on the back, inclining to greenish on the sides; lines greenish grey, edged with black, and a double whitish one low down on the sides. It feeds from September to June, on clover, plantain, dock, and various other low plants; and also cow-parsnip and other umbelliferæ. The moth flies in July and August, and is to be found in most English counties, but perhaps most commonly in the eastern. In Scotland it ranges to Moray, and seems to be generally distributed in Ireland.
The White-line Dart (Agrotis (Euxoa) tritici).
This is another exceedingly variable species. The ground colour of the fore wings ranges from pale whitish or ochreous brown, through various tints of greyish and red brown, up to black or sooty brown; variation in markings is somewhat similar to that referred to in A. cursoria. Three forms are shown on Plate [106], Figs. 7, 8, and 11; the latter represents a specimen closely approaching A. obelisca. Var. aquilina (Figs. 9 and 10), the English name of which is the Streaked Dart, is larger than the type, and the wings, consequently, are broader; by some entomologists it is considered to be a distinct species.
The caterpillar is obscure greyish or brownish, with a dark-edged pale line along the middle of the back, and a dusky line
on each side of it; low down on the sides is another dusky line. It feeds from September to May on mouse-ear chickweed, bedstraw, plantain, and other low-growing plants growing on sandy soils.
The moth is out in July and August, and is widely distributed throughout the British Isles, including the Orkneys and Shetlands, but especially common on coast sandhills.