HUMMING-BIRD SPHINX MOTHS. 



The adults of this genus of Humming-bird 

 Moths, which is also called Hcemorrhagia 

 and which belongs to the subfamily Macroglossinae, 

 have wings from which part of the scales rub off so 

 easily that they are almost never seen and those 

 portions of the wings are, therefore, described as trans- 

 parent. These adults have the unmothlike habit of 

 flying freely in the bright sunlight and, when hovering at 

 flowers, they closely resemble humming-birds. Plate 

 XXXVIII shows the typical (summer) form of the northern 

 race of thy she. The spring form, cimbiciformis, differs, 

 among other ways, in having the outer margin of the trans- 

 parent areas an even line. There are also two seasonal 

 forms of the southern race. Hemaris dijfinis is smaller 

 than thysbe and has the dark areas on the abdomen black 

 instead of reddish. When flying, it suggests a bumble- 

 bee. The thorax of Hemaris gracilis is greener, in life, 

 than thysbe and has a pair of reddish, longitudinal lines 

 on the under side of its thorax. All three are eastern 

 species, gracilis being confined to the Atlantic States 

 and usually not as common as the others. Their larvae 

 feed on relatives of the honeysuckle, such as snowberry 

 (Symphoricarpos} and Viburnum. They usually pupate 

 in fallen leaves and generally make a poor sort of a cocoon. 

 The pupae do not have free tongue-cases. 



Chcerocampinae 



Amphion nessus flies about twilight, and earlier, in 

 May and June. It has a wing-expanse of two inches, or 

 more, but its body is only about an inch long; its general 

 color consists of various shades of brown ; there is a narrow, 

 yellowish- white band across the abdomen; the hind wings 

 have reddish centers and yellowish- white front margins; 

 the outer edge of each front wing has two marked indenta- 

 tions. The larva feeds on grape, Virginia creeper, and 

 other plants; it has a short, rough tail-horn, a brown 

 body-color with black and yellow dottings, and the third 

 and fourth segments somewhat enlarged. It pupates in 

 fallen leaves, usually spinning a few threads. 



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