300 LIFE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN INSECTS. 



brown, with pink patches on the abdomen. The 

 larva feeds on convolvulus and sweet potato. The 

 silver striped hawk moth {Chaerocampa celerio), 

 whose fore-wings are greenish black, with silver 

 lines from the tip inwards. The hind wings are 

 marked in pink and black. Then there is the grass 

 hawk moth {Chaerocampa scrofa), whose dull 

 brown larva feeds on grass. The moth is brown, with 

 hind wings of brick red. The genus Caequosa con- 

 tains the giants of the hawk moths — one species 

 measures 7 inches across the outstretched wings. 

 The larvge are covered with rough tubercles: the 

 terminal spine is absent. At the anal end of the 

 body are two spots resembling eyes, and these are 

 more prominent than the eyes, and would lead one 

 to think the head was at this end. 



The caterpillars, when reared in captivity, did not 

 pupate in the ground, but drew leaves of the food 

 plant together with silken threads and pupated in 

 these. 



Food Plants: — Native honeysuckle (Banksia), gee- 

 bung {Persoonia), and some of the wattles {Acacia). 



The caterpillars feeding on Banksia serrata are 

 most difficult to detect owing to the blending of 

 colour; for the leaves of the plant have a strongly 

 marked light-coloured midrib, and the larvae place 

 themselves in line and can hardly be seen. A few 

 of the hawk moths have clear scaleless wings. We 

 examined the wing of Protoparce with the lens and 

 sketched the frenulum on the hind wing (Plate 39, 

 Figs. 5 and 6.) 



