MaKh 27, 1873. 1 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTIOULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



261 



that the blighter hues are not observeJ, and, keeping jierfectly 

 motionless, it may easily be mistaken for a withered leaf. 

 Some naturalists think that insects when iu such positions are 

 actually iu a state of sleep, though how far this is correct is 

 ciuestiouablc. Many moths, if we touch them while they are 

 iu their sluggish state, at once fly off, others withdraw their 



induced to deposit eggs in confinement, and the larva; have 

 beeu reared from the earliest period to maturity. Like others 

 of the tribe, they hold on to the leaves or twigs when not in 

 motion with so much pertinacity, that if a sudden attempt is 

 made to remove one with the fingers, the body will very liiely 

 be torn away, while the claspers are still attached to the object 

 on which the larva was resting. If crawling, they are more 

 easily dislodged, and a high wind in the autumn will bring 

 some to the ground from a height of many feet, no perceptible 

 injury being usually sustained liy them if they fall on low 

 plants or amongst grass, though they are not so fortunate as 

 a well-known quadruped, which generally contrives to descend 

 upon its legs. A ludicrous circumstance in the history of 

 these caterpillars is, that after one of their'moults or changes 

 of skin they iisually devour the exuvia;, with the exception of 

 the head — too tough and horny a morsel even for their power- 

 ful jaws. Should one of them be annoyed by the near ap- 

 proach of another, ho wUl tm-n rather fiercely upon tho^in- 

 truder. 



The caterpillar of h. Tilia; is in one particular- quite unique 

 amongst British caterpillars. It has immediately behind the 



Larva of the Lime Hawk Moth (Pmcii-iuthub TiJiie). 



legs from the object they are resting on, and feign 

 death ; the Lime Hawk, however, and its congeners 

 strike out witli the front pair of legs, as if an- 

 noyed. 



Of the three Smeirinthi known in Britain, S. Tilisc, 

 though the least in size, is deemed by certain con- 

 noisseurs to be the handsomest, on account of the 

 richness of the colouring, shades of oUve brown and 

 green being set off by a tew lighter markings. For 

 my own part, however, I must confess to an ad- 

 miration for the Eyed Hawk, in which both the upper 

 and lower wings please the eye. This species has, 

 it may be remarked, been already named among 

 " predatory insects," being at times found feeding 

 freely on the Apple. 



The Lime Hawk has nothing hawk-hke in its 

 disposition, being one of the most pabific of insects, 

 only taking excursions in pursuit of honey, which it 

 eagerly imbibes through the proboscis, and this is 

 rather slender and short as compared with that such 

 moths as the Death's Head and the Privet Hawk are 

 furnished with. The name of Hawk is only applic- 

 able to these insects as possessing strength of wing 

 and celerity, though I am inclined to think that 

 these moths do not travel long distances, and career 

 across the country for several miles, as various ~^ — 

 butterflies are known to dn. The life of the insect 

 iu the imago state is but short, however, the moth 

 being seen in .Tune or July, the period varying with 

 the temperature. 



The eggs of S. Tilia) arc not very frequently detected by 

 those who look for such insect curiosities, they being generally 



Larva of the Poplar Hawk Moth (Smeirmthus PoptUi). 



deposited on the branches of the Lime and Elm at some distance 

 from the ground. By a little management the moth has been 



Convolvulus Siihinx (Sphmi Convolvuli). 



anal horn a flatc plate or ridge, which is of a purple colour, 

 bordered with yellow, and the use of which, if use it has, is 

 unknown. In most particulars, this excepted, the larva of 

 S. Tilia; resembles its congeners fi. ocellatus and Populi, 

 having tho surface of the body roughened, and yellow dots 

 on the green ground colour, while along the sides are tho 

 seven stripes so common amongst the larvaj belonging to the 

 larger Sphingidw. The anal horn is blue and yellow. This 

 stage of the existence of the insect lasts from six to eight 

 weeks, and during September, or earlier, we may see them 

 crawling towards the earth with the intent to undergo pupation . 

 The chrysalis is not usually closed in a regular cocoon, but the 

 caterpillar seeks out, if possible, some sheltered angle formed 

 by the roots of a tree, and drawing some particles together in 

 a careless way with threads of silk, it becomes a chrysalis. 

 This torpid condition lasts from eight to nine months if the 

 chrysalis be left undisturbed by the gardener's spade or the 

 entomologist's trowel. 



A larger moth than the one just described is that commonly 

 known as the Poplar Hawk (S. PopuU), though in reality, as 

 we find to be the case with other names taken from the food- 

 plant, it might quite as correctly take its name from tho Willow, 

 on which it often feeds, and on various species of which I have 

 frequently taken it along the Thames and Lea.- The cater- 

 pillar also feeds sometimes on the Birch. Laurel and Laurus- 

 tinus have also been noticed as occasionally yielding it a supply 

 of food in gardens ; some instances of this were observed in 

 1872, though the latter seem unlikely plants for it to resort to. 

 The moth is fond of sitting upon palings near gardens, even if 



