6 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



brown or black stripes. On each side of the body are seven broad oblique bands 

 of a white color, bordered in front with light purple or mauve. The stigmata 

 or breathing pores are very distinct, and are of a bright orange-yellow color. 

 The caudal horn is long, of a dark brown color, with a yellow tint at the base 

 of the sides. The body is cylindrical in form, and is smooth to the touch. The 

 caterpillar, after satisfying its appetite, or on any sudden alarm, assumes the 

 peculiar rigid appearance shown in the cut, and will remain thus, with its head 

 raised, for a considerable period. The formidable-looking horn on the last 

 segment gives the insect a rather alarming appearance ; but it is perfectly 

 harmless, and in fact even at this date naturalists can find no use either for 

 offensive or defensive purposes, for this horn, which is peculiar to nearly all the 

 caterpillars of the Sphingidce. The larva of the Plum Sphinx is generally 

 found in Ontario about the month of July or the early part of August. When it 

 has attained its maturity it ceases eating, and seeks shelter in the earth, where 

 it excavates for itself a convenient chamber which it lines with a water-proof, 

 gummy cement, and there undergoes its transformation into the pupa or chry- 

 salis state. 



The pupa (fig. 2) is about 1^ inches in length; its color is dark reddish- 

 brown, and it has a short thick projecting, or as naturalists term it, exserted 

 tongue case. The insect remains in the ground all through the winter and 

 spring, and emerges in its perfect winged state about the early part of June. 



The moth (fig. 3) is a large one, its wings expanding from 3^ to 4j inches. 

 The body is about 1^ inches long, varying slightly in the sexes as to length, 

 that of the female being shorter, somewhat thicker, and more obtuse at the 

 anal segment, while that of the male is longer and tapers almost to a point. 

 Describing this moth from five specimens (2 male and 3 female) now before me, 

 there appears very little difference in the markings of male and female. The 

 antennae are slightly different, but it requires some slight experience in Ento - 

 mology to ascertain it. The head and thorax, which are large and thick, are 

 blackish-brown with a whitish fawn color at the side. The eyes are very pro- 

 minent. The snout-like projection is composed of the palpi, or feelers, which 

 are two close-fitting shields for the protection of the proboscis, which lies snugly 

 coiled up between them like the mainspring of a watch. This proboscis or tongue 

 which is shewn in the engraving (fig. 3) is as long as the body of the moth, and 

 is used by the insect in extracting from flowers the honey, which forms its chief 

 food. To a watchful observer, a sphinx moth presents a most curious appear- 

 ance, not unlike that of a humming bird, while it hovers over some flower bed 

 with its wings humming from their rapid and ceaseless beating, its body poised 

 in the air, and its long tongue projecting like the beak of a bird, and dipping 

 from time to time into the innermost recesses of the various flowers in search of 

 food. 



The body of the moth is brown, with a black central line and a black band 

 on either side containing four or five dingy white spots. On the back of the 

 thorax are several fawn-colored blotches or markings which are peculiar to many 



