( 1 ) 



1". 1). Thf I'liiictioiilcss tdiigne loses the transverse animlatiou ; it is very 

 f'celiiy chitiiiised, and varies imliviiliiaily in iengtii. it not rarely bears scales, 

 and is oci'asionally tnberciilated. 



The longest tongue diciirs in tiie tribe Sphingicae, which tribe contains, 

 however, also species with a very short and functionless tongne, and one species 

 with jnst a vestige of it {Elloihrrhiit). A short tongne is fre(piently found 

 among the Amhiiliciiiae, in which subfamily it is always shorter than the body, 

 but often strong, and in the latter case not showing any sign of reduction. 

 In the SphiiHiulicae the tongne is also very weak and short in most species. 

 In the other groups of Spldngidae the tongue is never excessively long and 

 never very short, always preserving the ordinary structure and rigidity. It is 

 scarcely necessary to point out that the functionless glossa is a derivation from 

 a tongue efficient as a sucking-tube. 



As varied as the other month-parts are also the labial pali)i, shortly 

 designated as " palpi " in Le[)idoj)tera. Though this designation is, strictly 

 speaking, not correct, it is very convenient and quite precise enough, as there 

 can be no doubt that the labial palpi, and not the vestigial maxillary ones, 

 are meant, when speaking of the jialpi. 



The palpus, if not reduced, is large, broad in lateral aspect, closely 

 contiguous to the head, and has a short third segment. A palpus like this 

 does not occur outside the family. However, where the ])alpus is reduced, the 

 general aspect is insufficient to recognise it as a Sphiugid palpus. The most 

 slender and at the same time longest palpus is found in Tinostoma and in the 

 S of Cressotiia, in which latter genus the S pal[)i are strongly divergent. A 

 very large and rounded palpus is met with in Paehi/lia, Earypteri/x, Protoparce, 

 and other genera. Reduced palpi occur abundantly among Amhiilicinae and 

 Acherontiinae, while the palj)i of the other Sphingidae are mostly of medium 

 size or large, very seldom small. The size of the palpus depends on the 

 width of the segments and upon the scaling ; a broad segment covered by short 

 scales appearing mucli slenderer than a narrower one with long erect scaling 

 (PI. LIX. f. 20. 27). It is, as a rule, also the scaling which gives the terminal 

 portion of the palpus its particular shape. The triangularly pointed palpus and 

 the broadly rounded one, as described in systematic work, may have similar 

 segments when denuded. If one sjieaks of the shape of the palpus, one means 

 the palpus inclusive of the scaling as it appears in a perfect specimen. There 

 is distinct sexual dimorphism in the palpus among Ambuliclnae, the palpus of 

 the male being often larger than that of the female. 



There are always three segments ; the third is, however, nearly always 

 very short and concealed in the scaling of the second, projecting as a little 

 knob. In the few cases where the third segment is more distinct it is conical, 

 sometimes naked and horn-like (Coryfi/is ; Xanthopan); it is never long, slender, 

 and rod-like. In narrow jialpi it is often as broad at the base as the second 

 segment is at the end. 



The first segment is the longest as a rule, but there are many exceptions 



