LEPIDOPTERA. 81 



In some seasons tbey appear in very great numbers in 

 some localities. The larvae feed on bed-straw {Galium 

 Mollugo). A drawing of the Humming-bird Moth will 

 be seen on Plate III., Fig. 4. The flight of this moth is 

 amazingly swift. To this same group also belongs the 

 curious wasp-like or bee-like moths called Clear wings 

 (Plate III., Fig. 7), from the absence of scales on the 

 wings except at the margins ; these are Sesia fuciformis 

 or broad-bordered Bee-hawk, S. Bomhyliformis, the 

 narrow bordered Bee-hawk, Sphecia apiformis, whose 

 figure appears in the illustration, S. Bembeciformis, and 

 various species of Trochilium. In all these species the 

 wings are more or less transparent, with a black edge ; 

 the upper wings are generally barred with brown, orange, 

 and black. The bodies of the genus Trochilium are 

 slender. At tlie end of the abdomen there is a brush- 

 like tuft, more or less conspicuous. 



Of all our British moths, Mr. Newman says, the 

 Sesiidw are the most elegant, graceful, and fairy-like. 

 Unlike almost all other moths, they fly in sunshine, and 

 nothing can exceed the grace and beauty of their mo- 

 tions as they hover over a flower, or walk over its petals 

 and leaves, gently waving their transparent and sylph- 

 like wings. The most remarkable character that belongs 

 to these moths is this: — they seem to have no similarity 

 at all to other moths, but rather resemble gnats, and 

 bees and wasps, and a variety of other insects. The 

 hornet-like appearance of the Sesia apiformis is obvious 

 at a glance. The larva feeds on the wood of poplars 

 and aspens, into which it burrows. Here it changes 

 after two years of larva-life into a pupa, the perfect 

 insect appearing about midsummer. 



a 



