SPHINGID^. 15 



manner a pair of green leaves pointing obliquely downwards, 

 such as the lime trees throw out, here and there, upon their 

 trunks ; the resemblance being sufficiently close to deceive 

 the careless eye, so that the moth, attractive as it would be 

 to children, sometimes sits all day unnoticed within reach of 

 their hands. Its flight is rather late in the dusk, so that it 

 is seldom seen on the wing, and it is very little attracted by 

 light. 



Perhaps more common in the outer suburbs of London 

 than in any part of the country — having a special liking for 

 the limes — but moderately common throughout the south 

 and south-east of England from Suffolk to Devonshire ; 

 scarcer in Norfolk and the Midlands, and in many parts quite 

 absent. The most northern record upon which reliance can 

 be placed appears to be of a single specimen in Yorkshire. 

 A statement that one has been taken in Scotland is believed 

 to have originated iu a mistake, and I know of no record in 

 Wales or Ireland. 



It is common in the more central portions of Europe, is 

 said to be found in some parts of Siberia, and has even been 

 brought from Sierra Leone, but its range appears to be far 

 more curtailed than that of its congeners. No very closely 

 allied species seems to be known. 



Genus 2. ACHERONTIA. 



Antennas rather short, straight, thick, terminated by a 

 distinctly recurved bristle-like point; fore wings bluntly 

 pointed, with the hind margin slightly rounded, densely 

 clothed with scales ; thorax and abdomen very massive. 



Larva very large, smooth, with rounded head, and broad 

 oblique lateral stripes ; horn of twelfth segment rough, bent 

 down backward, and recurved at the tip. 



Pupa very large, delicate, thin skinned, shining, rounded. 

 Subterranean. 



