658 



AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY 



velvety dark brown spot in the middle. The fore wings are gray, 

 with a faint rosy tint in some specimens, and tipped and banded with 



brown as shown in Fig- 

 ure 809. The hind wings 

 are deep carmine at the 

 middle, and are bordered 

 with pale tan or gray. 

 Near the anal angle there 

 is a large black spot in 

 which there is a pair of 

 blue spots, which sug- 



_. „ o • i7 • . gested the name gemin- 



Fig. 809. — Smennthus gemmatus. '^ ,pi , f H 



upon the leaves of apple, plum, elm, ash, and willow. 



Harris's sphinx, Lapara homhycoides. — This sphinx has interested 

 us chiefly on account of the habits and mark- 

 ings of its larva (Fig. 810). It feeds upon the 

 foliage of pine, and is colored with alternating 

 green and white longitudinal stripes ; the dorsal 

 stripe is green spotted with red. It has a way 

 of hanging head downward in a pine tassel 

 that conceals it entirely from the sight of all 

 but very sharp eyes, its stripes giving it a close 

 resemblance to a bunch of pine leaves. The 

 moth expands about 50 mm. ; it is gra}^ with 

 the fore wings marked by several series of small 

 brown spots. 



The pen-marked sphinx, Sphinx chersis. — 

 This moth is of an almost evenly distributed 

 ashy-gray color. This sombre color is relieved 

 somewhat by a black band on each side of the 

 abdomen, marked with four or five white trans- 

 verse bars; by two dark brown, smoky bands 

 which cross the hind wings; and by a series 

 of black dashes on the fore wings, one in each 

 cell between the apex of the wing and the anal 

 vein . These dashes appear as if drawn casually 

 with a pen. The larva (Fig. 807) is not un- 

 common upon ash and lilac; j^t is greenish or 

 bluish white above, and darker below; there 

 are seven oblique yellow bands on the sides of 

 the body, each edged above with dark green. 

 When disturbed it assumes the threatening at- 

 titude shown in the figure. 



The -tomato-worm, Protopdrce quinquemaculdta. — This larva is the 

 best known of all our sphinxes, as it may be found feeding on the 

 leaves of tomato, tobacco, or potato wherever these plants are grown 

 in our country. It resembles in its general appearance the larva of 

 Sphinx chersis (Fig. 807); but is stouter and has a series of pale 



Fig. 810. — Lapara 

 bombycoides, 

 larva. 



