The caterpillar is brownish grey, with a row of triangular spots on each side of the back. It is very sluggish, spending the greater part of its existence among the roots of low plants. It feeds throughout the winter, except during severe weather, and is full grown in April. The food plants include teasels (_Dipsacus pilosus_ and _D. sylvestris_), hedge bedstraw (_Galium Mollugo_), orpine (_Sedum Telephium_), sallows (_Salix_), and various other plants. The chrysalis may be dug out in May. Family--NOCTUIDAE A glance at our list of British _Noctuae_ (Appendix I) will show that this family contains nearly fifty species and only three genera. It includes several very common moths that frequent our gardens and are to be met with during almost every summer evening ramble. Most of the species are very dingy, but the half-dozen that comprise the genus _Triphaena_ are characterised by the bright colouring of the hind wings. The fore wings are narrow and more or less glossy, and overlap to a greater or less extent when the insects are at rest; and the hind wings are folded and completely hidden beneath them. The larvae are rather thick and smooth, and generally of very dingy colours. They feed on low plants, often confining their ravages to the roots, and generally lie well concealed close to the ground or under the surface. The pupae are brown, smooth, and shining, and are usually inclosed in earthen cocoons. We shall briefly notice a few members of each of the three genera. _The Turnip Moth_ (_Agrotis Segetum_) This is another of those destructive insects that attack vegetable and flower gardens, often doing so much damage to our crops as to become quite a nuisance to cultivators. The moth is decidedly dingy. Its fore wings are brown, clouded with a darker tint. The hind wings are almost white, sometimes with a brown hind margin. [Illustration: FIG. 155.--THE TURNIP MOTH.] In June it lays its eggs on the stems of young plants, generally very close to the ground. As soon as the young caterpillars emerge they commence feeding on the lower parts of the stems, or burrowing deeply into the larger succulent roots. When the larvae have completed their work of destruction in this way, they change to brown chrysalides in the ground. Some undergo this change in October, and shortly after give rise to a second brood of moths; but most of them remain in the caterpillar state throughout the winter, and, contrary to the general rule with hybernating larvae, continue to feed almost throughout the winter months, and change to the chrysalis in the following May. The caterpillar grows to a large size. It is of a greyish or greenish colour, with a paler line on the back, a light brown line on each side of this, black spots between these lines, and black spiracles. _The Heart and Dart_ (_Agrotis Exclamationis_)