MANDUCA. 53 



of the inner line of tlie hind-wings, which sometimes dis- 

 appears entirely. 



At the present time the larva usually feeds on potato, but is 

 sometimes found on jasmine, buckthorn, and other plants. 

 The full-grown larva is about five inches long, and will, if 

 disturbed, retract its head, and make a scraping noise with its 

 jaws. It is yellow, with broad oblique purple lines on the 

 sides, w^iich become paler on the back, where they meet in an 

 acute angle. All the segments except the first three and the 

 last are dotted with blue -black. The horn is yellow, set with 

 coarse pointed elevations, and is curved downwards at the base 

 and upwards at the tip. A green form, which is green with the 

 anterior three segments and also the last yellow, is frequently 

 met with ; but the most remarkable, as well as the rarest, 

 form of the larva is one in which the colour is grey or 

 olive-brown, with numerous white spots centred with black. 



The larva, when about to pass into the pupa state, burrows 

 from about eight to ten inches below the surface, where it 

 excavates for itself a roomy chamber. The pupa is dark 

 reddish- brown, with black spiracles. It is often dug up in 

 potato-fields. The moth appears in either three or four 

 weeks, or not until the June of the next year. It is much 

 commoner in England than it used to be. 



The large size of the moth, the skull on its back, and its 

 power of emitting a sound, have always made it an object of 

 interest. It is said sometimes to enter hives and feast on the 

 honey. It is seldom observed on the wing, and is believed to 

 fly late at night ; but it is an insect of powerful flight, and is 

 sometimes captured on board ship many miles from land ; 

 though, in such cases, it may be an open question as to 

 whether it has flown from the shore, or whether it came on 

 board while the vessel was still at anchor, or comparatively 

 near land, 



