10 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



blance some of the caterpillars bear in certain attitudes to the famous 

 Egyptian Sphinx. This family comprises some of the most robust and 

 powerful among moths. Dr. Harris thus speaks of them : " In the winged 

 state the true Sphinges are known by the name of Humming-bird Moths, 

 from the sound which they make in flying, and Hawk Moths from their 

 habit of hovering in the air while taking their food. These Humming- 

 bird or Hawk Moths may be seen during the morning and evening twi- 

 light flying with great swiftness from flower to flower. Their wings are 

 long, narrow and pointed, and are moved by powerful muscles. Their 

 tongues when uncoiled are for the most part excessively long, and with 

 them they extract the honey from the blossoms of the honeysuckle and 

 other tubular flowers while on the wing." 



Fig. 1. 



The Blind-eyed Sphinx, Smerinthus excecatus, which is well shown in 

 Fig. I, is a lovely creature which measures when its wings are spread 

 nearly three inches across. Its body is fawn colored, with a chestnut 

 colored stripe on the thorax and a dark brown line on the abdomen. The 

 front wings are fawn colored, clouded and striped with a rich velvety 

 brown. The hind wings are rose colored in the middle, crossed by two 

 or three short whitish lines, having a brownish patch at the tip and a black 

 spot with a pale blue centre near the inner angle. The moth is on the 

 wing in June and July ; the eggs are laid on apple, plum and wild cherry 

 trees, and the larva. Fig. 2, becomes full grown in September. It then 

 measures about two and a half inches long, has a green triangular head 

 bordered with white, and an apple green body, paler on the back, deeper 

 in color along the sides, with seven oblique stripes on each side of a pale 

 yellow color, the last one, of a brighter yellow than the others, extending 



