death's head moth. 413 



known Sphinx of Egypt. The Moths themselves are popularly 

 and appropriately called Hawk-Moths, on account of the great 

 swiftness of their flight, which very much resembles that of 

 the hawk tribe. Their whole structure, indeed, shows that 

 they are made for rapid flight, and, if we compare them with 

 the swift-flying birds, especially the swallows and the humming- 

 birds, we shall find that the outlines of Moths and birds are 

 wonderfully similar. Their bodies are of moderate length, 

 and pointed at the tail, and their wings are long, strong, stiff, 

 narrow, and pointed. In fact, if the shadow of a humming- 

 bird and of a Hawk Moth were thrown side by side on the 

 same surface, it would not be easy to tell which was the 

 shadow of the bird and which of the insect. 



With a very few exceptions, these Moths fly only at night or 

 in the dusk of the evening, so that to watch their flight is not 

 an easy matter. The best plan is, on some moonlight night, 

 to take a stand near some honey-bearing flowers, to remain 

 perfectly still, and watch quietly. Should there be Hawk- 

 Moths in the neighbom-hood, some of them are tolerably sure 

 to come to the flowers, and to feed in their own peculiar 

 manner, by poising themselves in mid-air on their rapidly 

 quivering wings, and thrusting their sucking-tubes or trunks 

 into the recesses of the flower. As these Moths will not fly by 

 day, and as the partial darkness prevents their movements from 

 being seen, it is better to look out for the well-known 

 Humming-bird Hawk-Moth, which does fly by day, and is a 

 very bold insect, allowing itself to be approached quite closely. 



Our first examjjle of the Hawk-Moths is the magnificent 

 Death's Head Moth {Acherontia Atropos), a figure of which is 

 given on Plate XIV. Fig. 1. 



This splendid creature ranks among the very largest of our 

 insects, inasmuch as the spread of its wings is very consider- 

 able, and the body is thick and heavily made. The upper 

 surface of the fore wings is warm-brown, with bands and 

 mottlings of a darker hue, and a little white spot on the disc. 

 The hind wings are yellow, with two black bands. The 

 thorax is densely covered with a soft velvet-like down, feeling 

 to the touch very much like the fur of the mole. The colour 

 if-- a very deep black-brown, and in the middle is a yellow 



