THE SPHINGIDM. o- 



immense antennae upon their very small heads ; and the narrow 

 wings, which are green or a very deep blue, with spots or bands 

 of rich carmine, make them to be very much sought after. 



One species, Zygcena filipendidcB, is very well known over large 

 districts, and it is amusing to see these "six spot burnets" buz- 

 zing about in considerable numbers around the dandelions, thistles, 

 and other common plants, or flying heavily and slowly over the 

 hills. The moth is of a steel-blue colour, and has patches of car- 

 mine on its front wings ; the hinder wings are red, with a black 

 border. The caterpillar is rather bloated-looking, and is orna- 

 mented with small bundles of delicate hairs ; it is of a pale yellow 

 colour, and has rows of black spots upon it. Its head is very 

 small, and the jaws are made after the model of those of the 

 tender leaf eaters. It lives upon many kinds of leguminous plants. 



When about to undergo the first metamorphosis the caterpillar 

 constructs a long cocoon, of a pale yellow colour, and fixes it on 

 twigs ; it is thin, but as strong as parchment, the silk which forms 

 it being mixed with much secretion like varnish. The young 

 larvae escape from the egg at the end of summer, and remain dull 

 and stupid during autumn and winter. After this hybernation 

 they wake up in the spring, and seek the plants upon which they 

 can subsist. The engraving of the metamorphosis of the " six- 

 spot burnet," the Antlirocera filipendnlcB, of Stainton, or the 

 ZygcEua of the same name, shows the chrysalis in its cocoon, 

 fixed on to a stem, and the moth with the large antennae. 



No family of the Lepidoptera is better known or more readily 

 distinguished than that of the Sphingidce, Sphinges or Sphinxes, 

 as they are commonly called. 



The large body, the thick antennae, terminating in a hooked 



bristle, and the long, narrow, and strong wings, give the sphinges 



a very marked appearance. These moths are usually large, and 



their active flight soon makes them noticed. They glide along 



during the hot summer evenings with immense rapidity, and poise 



themselves in the air by a peculiar vibration of their wings. The 



sphinges, which have long trunks, can thus sip up the honey from 



the nectaries of flowers without touching them, and this peculiarity 



recalls that of the humming birds of the New World. 



The Sphinges are very remarkable, even as caterpillars. They 



11 



