Sphingidae 
Genus DARAPSA Walker 
We include in this genus three species, all of which 
occur within our territory, and all of which we figure upon 
our plates. 
(1) Darapsa pholus Cramer, Plate III, Fig. 3, $ . (The 
Azalea Sphinx.) 
Syn. choerilus Cramer; azalea Abbot & Smith; clorinda Martyn. 
This medium-sized hawkmoth, which is one of our com¬ 
monest species in western Pennsylvania, may easily be distin¬ 
guished from its very near ally, D. myron , by its reddish color. 
The caterpillar feeds upon Viburnum and Azalea. 
(2) Darapsa myron Cramer, Plate III, Fig. 4, $ . (The 
Hog Sphinx.) 
Syn. pampinatrix Abbot & Smith; cnotus Hiibner. 
The caterpillar, of which we give a figure, feeds upon wild 
and domestic grape-vines, and also upon the Virginia Creeper. 
It is a very common 
insect in the Atlantic 
States, and ranges as 
far west as Kansas and 
Iowa. It has been re¬ 
garded as injurious to 
vineyards, but the 
damage done is incon¬ 
siderable, and the in¬ 
sects can easily be 
combated by picking 
off the larvae from the 
vines and crushing 
them under foot. The 
reason why these in¬ 
sects do comparatively 
small damage is per- 
Fig. 2q. —Larva of D. myron. 
(After Riley.) 
haps found in the fact that they appear to be especially subject 
to the attacks of a small hymenopterous parasite, belonging to 
the family Ichneumonidce. The female ichneumon-fly deposits 
her eggs upon the epidermis of the young caterpillar. As soon 
as the eggs hatch, the grub penetrates the body of the caterpillar 
and feeds upon the fatty tissues lying just under the skin. 
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