MOTHS OF THE LIMBERLOST 



clusively prove it a moth, for niglithawks and whip-poor- 

 wills did the same; yet unquestionably they were birds. 



Anyway, I always knew Celeus was a moth, and that 

 every big, green caterpillar killed on the tomato vines 

 meant one less of its kind among the flowers. I never 

 saw one of these moths close a tomato or potato vine, a 

 jimson weed or ground cherry, but all my life I have seen 

 their eggs on these plants, first of a pale green closely re- 

 sembling the under side of the leaves, and if they had 

 been laid some time, a yellow colour. The eggs are not 

 dotted along in lines, or closely placed, but are deposited 

 singly, or by twos, at least very sparsely. 



The little caterpillars emerge in about a week, and then 

 comes the process of eating until they grow into the large, 

 green tomato or tobacco worms that all of us have seen. 

 When hatched the caterpillars are green, and have gray 

 caudal horns similar to Lineata. After eating for four or 

 five days, they cast their skins. This process is repeated 

 three or four times, when the full-grown caterpillars are 

 over four inches long, exactly the colour of a green tomato, 

 with pale blue and yellow markings of beautiful shades, 

 the horns blue-black, and appearing sharp enough to in- 

 flict a severe wound. 



Like all sphinx caterpillars Celeus is perfectly harm- 

 less; but this horn in connection with the habit the 

 creatures have of clinging to the vines with the back 

 feet, raising the head and striking from side to side, 



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