MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 407 



lilac, each set in a pale-yellow patch, extends along the middle of the back. The 

 caudal horn is reddish or bluish green, granulated with black in front. Much varia- 

 tion of color occurs among these caterpillars. Instead of green they are sometimes of a 

 reddish pink, with markings of darker shades of red or brown. When mature they 

 descend to the ground, where they draw together a few leaves or other material, with 

 threads of silk ; and within these they transform to pupaj. 



There are two broods of this insect each year, and they pass the winter in the 

 pupa state. They feed on the leaves of the grape. 



The oleander sphinx (Deilephila nerii) belongs to Africa and southern Asia, 

 but extends into Europe even as far as the southern shores of the Baltic and to the 

 British Isles. This species is probably the most richly adorned and magnificent of all 

 the members of this family. The fore wings expand four inches or more, and are of a 



FIG. 590. Phlegethontius Carolina, tobacco-worm moth. 



pale rosy-gray color, with large irregular blotches of dull green more or less intersected 

 with wavy whitish streaks. The hind wings are purplish brown at the base, shading 

 into dull green at the margin, with a single curved whitish line a little beyond the 

 middle. The mature caterpillar is green or yellow, with two large ocellated spots on 

 the sides of the fourth segments, and a longitudinal white stripe on each side, with 

 numei-ous small white dots on all the segments from the sixth to the twelfth. The 



O 



caudal horn is of an orange-yellow color, short, blunt, and curved downwards. It 

 feeds on the leaves of Oleander and Vinca. 



The tobacco-worm moth (Phlegethontius Carolina} occurs in the United States, 

 Mexico, and South America. The wings expand nearly four inches. The head, 

 thorax, and fore wings are brownish gray, with a white spot at the base of the wing 

 and one at the end of the cell. The wings are crossed by lighter and darker shades 

 and black lines. The hind wings are gray with a black spot at the base, a double 

 black band across the middle, and a broad marginal stripe of blackish gray. The 

 abdomen is blackish gray, with a double row of white spots along the back, and five 



