68 European Butterflies axd Moths. 



with a pale yellow skull ; the abdomen Is orange, with the incisions black, and a broad 

 bluish-black longitudinal stripe on the back. The antennae are black, tipped with white. 

 It expands 4 or 5 inches, and is the largest Lepidopterous insect found in Britain, or, except 

 Saturnia Pyri, in Europe. It occurs from August to October, and hybernated specimens, or 

 specimens from hybernated pupa;, are sometimes found in June. The larva is yellow or greenish, 

 and those which feed on buckthorn are blackish. It has broad transverse stripes from the 5th to 

 the 1 2th segments, which meet in an angle on the back, and are blue on the back and blackish 

 on the sides. One variety is dark brown, and yellow above on the 3rd and 4th segments, with 

 two waved black lines on the back. It lives in summer and autumn on potatoes, thorn-apple, 

 jasmine, buckthorn, tea-tree, &c. It has been suggested that the green larvae are designed to 

 simulate green stalks, and the brown ones withered stalks. It is not a sufficiently abundant insect 

 to do any real damage, but the larva has not unfrequently been mistaken for the dreaded Colorado 

 Beetle, to which it has much less resemblance than a dog to a mouse. Hybernating pupa; must 

 be kept in a warm room from the beginning, and kept moderately damp. The transformations 

 are figured at PI. 16, Fig. i, a — c. 



GENUS II. — -SPHINX (LINN.). 



Antennje longer and more slender than in Aclicrontia, terminating in a slender bristle. 

 Body slenderer than in Ac/icnvitia and cylindrical, wings entire, fore-wings long and pointed, 

 with the hind margin slightly convex. The tongue is very long, sometimes longer than the 

 body, and is enclosed in a separate sheath in the pupa. The upper surface of the abdomen has 

 pale and dark bands on the sides. The wings are less sloped than in Acherontia when at rest, 

 and the hind-wings are less folded. The larvae are provided with a strong smooth horn, which is 

 only slightly curved, and are marked with longitudinal or transverse streaks. They construct 

 their pups; underground. The male moths of 5. Ligiistri and Convolvidi emit a musky odour 

 when alive. 



* I. 5. Piiiastri (Linn.), {Pine Hazvk-moth). — Fore -wings ashy-grey, with two rather indistinct 

 reddish-brown bands running from the costa, and sharply angulated about the middle ; the inner- 

 most turning inwards to the base, and the outermost running to the inner margin. Between 

 these are two or three short longitudinal black dashes, and another at the tip. Hind-wings dark 

 grey, lighter at the base ; abdomen banded with black and greyish-white. Expands rather under 

 3 inches. Common throughout the greater part of Europe, except the extreme south, but is at 

 all times a great rarity in Britain. It is most frequently observed on honeysuckle flowers in the 

 evening, or resting on the trunks of poplars and other trees in the daytime. The moth appears 

 from May to July. The larva is green, with white longitudinal lines, and an irregular reddish- 

 brown stripe on the back. It feeds on pine and fir, especially on Pimis sylvcstris, in August 

 and September. The tongue-sheath is attached to the pupa. The moth and larva are figured 

 at PI. 17, Fig. I, a, b. 



* 2. 5. Convolvidi (Linn.), {Convolvulus Hazvk-inotli). — Fore-wings dark grey, varied with 

 paler and darker, and with two narrow black streaks in the middle and another at the tip. Hind- 

 wings pale grey, with four black bands ; the two middle ones close together and scarcely 

 separated. Abdomen banded with black and flesh-colour ; the latter colour edged in from, with 

 whitish. Expands about 4 or 5 inches. Common throughout the Old World, except the north, 

 in August and September ; and occasionally, from hybernated pupae, in May and June. In 

 Central Europe it is only found abundantly in favourable years, and is most frequently 

 captured in gardens, hovering over flowers at dusk. The larva is yellowish-brown or green, 



