THE DEATH S-HEAD HAWK MOTH. 27 



end of July, at Chilton, Suffolk, and at Bridgwater, Somerset, 

 and in early August in Somerset, and at Dover. A moth 

 was captured in August at Marlow, Bucks., one was taken at 

 Christchurch on September 19, one at Reigate, September 25. 

 Several specimens occurred in Devon and Cornwall in the 

 autumn, and at Deal early in October. Larvae were found, too, 

 from the second week in September to the end of that month in 

 several parts of the country. Moths seem to have been reared 

 in early September from the early August caterpillars ; whilst 

 the September caterpillars attained the perfect state towards 

 the end of the month and in October. Two pup<e, found at 

 Penarth on September 12, produced moths in from four to six 

 days afterwards ; four other chrysalids, obtained in Hants about 

 mid September, yielded moths between September 21 and the 

 beginning of October. 



F'rom the foregoing there can be no question that there are 

 at least two generations of the moth in some years, and in our 

 own country, but we have even clearer evidence of this in the 

 records of 1900, when a moth was taken in the spring at Ayton, 

 Berwickshire, another at Worsborough Bridge on June 18, and 

 a third at Kilmarnock, on a bee-hive, July 11. Caterpillars were 

 found during late July and August in South Scotland and 

 various parts of England, and moths were reared from some 

 of these. In September and October caterpillars were found 

 more commonly, and two or three moths were captured, in 

 various places, between August 19 and October 9 ; others, reared 

 from September caterpillars, emerged from October 30 to 

 November 24. 



By the rustic, and possibly the uninitiated generally, the 

 moth is looked upon as something uncanny. This is probably 

 due to the fact that the creature, when handled, emits a peculiar 

 sound that has been described as a shrill squeak. According 

 to Kirby, the statement made by Rossi that the sound is 

 produced by air from the air-sacs being forced through the 



