Sl'HINGlD.K. DF.ILF.PHILA. 129 



fifteen or sixteen years since in a garden at Norwich, and were 

 kept until they changed to pupie ; but unfortunately, in that state, 

 their metamorphosis ended : one of these pupae I have in my col- 

 lection. Of late, however, the perfect insect has occurred more 

 than once, and in a totally different part of the country: three 

 specimens, as I am informed by the Rev. F. W. Hope, were taken 

 near Oxford several years ago. In August, 1826, an injured one 

 was found resting on a wall near Birmingham ; and last summer a 

 second was secured not far distant from the same locality ; the 

 latter I have in my possession. Again, Mr. Marshall informed me 

 in March last, that, in his way through Manchester, he met with an 

 individual who possessed upwards of a dozen living pupje, which 

 were procured from larvae found in that neighbourhood during last 

 season. 



How far the above facts may induce a belief that the insect is 

 truly indigenous, I shall leave to the judgment and discrimination 

 of those who are far better qualified to judge of the geographical 

 distribution of insects in general than myself, merely observing 

 that the species in question inhabits various parts of the south of 

 Europe, and that, by admitting it into our Fauna, no very erroneous 

 conclusions are likely to result therefrom, in an attempt to investi- 

 gate the natural distribution of the Sphingidae ; which must be the 

 case, to the detriment of science, when such transatlantic species as 

 Sp. Druraei, &c. are thrown into the scale as natural productions 

 of this our " favoured island." The mere circumstance of spe- 

 cimens of such insects as those above alluded to having been 

 caught at large, either in the perfect or previous states, is no argu- 

 ment in favour of their being indigenous, to a commercial country 

 at least : and the naturalist, who regards the knowledge of truth as 

 superior to the false pride which generally fills the breast of the 

 mere collector, whose utmost ambition is gratified by the sole 

 possession of objects that others cannot obtain, will pause ere he 

 swell the list of the productions of any given locality with crea- 

 tures which have been ])robably introduced by the aid of com- 

 merce *. Such productions it is, in fact, highly essential should be 



* Amongst nearly fifty species of Ironical and fruiisutlantic insects, which 



have been taken at large in the ^\'est In.lia Docks, by Messrs. Beck, may bo 



instanced three specimens of the huge Mypale avi-vdaria ; one of wliich must 



have existed nearly a year in this country, as the pUe of :x»uth American wood 



Haustei.lata. Vol. I. 30th Jinf. IS2H. .s 



