NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM. 231 



prolong tlieir repast, and led to tlieir capture. This habit of retir- 

 ing under the soft sand of the sea links induced my late friend, 

 Captain Charles Blonier, one of our most successful Lepidop- 

 terists, who, amidst the dangers and hardships of Abercromby's 

 celebrated Egyptian campaign, of which he was one of the last sur- 

 viving officers, eagerly pursued this, his favourite study, to adopt, 

 with great success, the plan of using a common garden rake in 

 such places, to expose the larvae and pup^e. It is probable that 

 searching for the larvaj will prove, as with the Micro-lepidoptera, 

 the best way of procuring specimens of all the true Sphingid^e ; 

 for the short time of their twilight flight, its amazing velocity, 

 and the fact of tlieir always feeding on the wing, renders their 

 capture in the perfect state, in most instances, accidental. The 

 sea coast seems to be their favourite haunt, and where the 

 honied sweets lay deeply hidden and out of the reach, of other 

 insects, as in the flowers of the honeysuckle, the jasmine, and, of 

 late years, the petunia, they alone, with their long trunks, are 

 able to extract the treasure, and in such situations they have 

 been usually met with when taken in flight. Seaton Carew. — 

 Wm. Backhouse, Esq. Twizell, not uncommon. — P. J. Selby, Esq. 



3. C. Elpenor, Linn. 



Sphinx Elpenor, Linn. S. Nat. ii. 801. — Hixh. Sphin. 61. — 

 Don. Brit. Ins. iv. pi. 122.— Wood Ind. Ent. t. 4, /. 18. 

 Deilephila Elpenor, Stepli. Illust. Haust. i. 132. Cheero- 

 campa Elpenor, Staint. Man. i. 96. 

 Larva. Hi'ib. Gesch. Sphin. III. Leg. B. h. 2. — Dup. Icon. 

 ii. Crepus. pi. 5,/! 2. — Don. Brit. Ins. tit supra. 

 Hitherto rarely met with. A single specimen taken near New- 

 castle, several years ago. Once at Twizell. — P. J. Selhy, Esq. 

 A common southern species. 



Family 3. SESIID^, Steph. 



29. Macroglossa, Scop. 

 1. M. Stellatarum, Linn. 



Sphinx Stellatarum, Linn. S. Nat. ii. 803. — Huh. Sj^hin. 57, 

 155. — Don Brit. Ins. vii. 41, ^>/. 155. — Wood. Ind. Ent. t. 



