SPHINX. SPHINX; 
Generic Character. 
Antennce medio crassiores, 
seu utraque extremitate 
attenuatae, subprisma - 
ticae. 
Alfe deflexae (volatu gravi- 
ore vespertino seu matu- 
tino.) 
Antennae thickest in the 
middle, subprismatic, and 
attenuated at each ex- 
tremity. 
Wings deflected. (Flight 
strong, and commonly in 
the evening or morning.) 
Xhe Insects of this genus are sometimes called 
by the title of Hawk-Moths, and have in general 
a large thorax and thick body, commonly taper- 
ing towards the extremity. The flight of the 
larger kinds is chiefly confined to the evening or 
early morning hours, few species appearing on 
the wing in the middle of the day. The name 
Sphinx is applied to the genus on account of the 
posture assumed by the larvae of several of the 
larger species, which are often seen in an attitude 
much resembling that of the Egyptian Sphinx, 
viz. with the fore-parts elevated, and the rest of 
the body applied flat to the surface. 
One of the most elegant insects of this genus is 
the Sphinx Ligustri or Privet Hawk-Moth. It is 
a large insect, measuring nearly four inches and a 
