FIELD BOOK OF INSECTS. 



Sphecodina abbotii has a wavy outer margin of the front 

 wings similar to that of nessus but, among other differ- 

 ences, the basal half or two-thirds of the hind wings is 

 yellow. It flies, as a rule, just after sunset. The larvae, 

 which feed on grape and Virginia creeper, have two color 

 forms, green and brown; they have an eye-like tubercle 

 instead of an anal horn. Even more than most of their 

 relatives, they thrash their tails about. Eliot and Soule 

 say: 'We have seen orioles try to pick up an abbotii 

 larva on our woodbine, and dart away with a scream when 

 it lifted its snake-like anal end with the tubercle shining 

 like an eye. The caterpillars make a squeaking noise; 

 how they make it we do not know." Other Sphingid 

 larvae make a similar noise. The tongue-case is not 

 free. 



The adults of this common Striped Sphinx 



te XXXVIH ) ma y be found fl > Tin & at ' 

 apparently, any hour of the day or night 



from July to November. Celerio is sometimes used for 

 the generic name. "When full-grown the caterpillars are 

 three inches long and vary greatly in coloring and mark- 

 ings. There seem to be two styles of dress; one is yellowish 

 green with a series of connected spots along each side of the 

 back, each spot being colored crimson, yellow, and black ; 

 the other dress is black, with a yellow line down the middle 

 of the back, and yellow spots of various sizes along the 

 sides. These two styles may be varied in many ways" 

 (Dickerson). There is a distinct anal horn. Although 

 it is sometimes called the Purslane Sphinx, the larvae 

 feed on a great variety of plants including apple, grape, 

 Virginia creeper, and currant. It is sometimes injurious 

 to cultivated plants but it has never hurt "pursley" 

 enough to suit me. Sometimes they make a loose, open 

 cocoon at the surface of the ground, but usually they go 

 just below the surface and spin no threads. The tongue- 

 case is not free. 



Deilephila intermedia is much like lineata except that it 

 has only two pairs of dark marks on its abdomen and the 

 veins of the front wings are not marked with whitish. It 

 is not usually common but it ranges from Canada to 



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