82 



[1900 



POTATO. 



Death's-head Moth. Acherontia ntropns, Linn. 



«,i<^. 



Acherontia atropos. — Moth and caterpillar (not full sized). 



The great caterpillars of tlie Death's-head Moth are amongst the 

 kinds of which some specimens are almost every year sent for identifi- 

 cation, but usually these are very few in number. In the past season, 

 however, the various enquiries sent (beginning on August 2ud, and 

 continuing at intervals until October 5th, with specimens of the larva, 

 and later on of the chrysalis, accompanying) showed an unusual pre- 

 valence of attack, and much interest was di.splayed as to the nature 

 and habits of the great grub found in connection with Potatoes, or in 

 turning up Potato land. 



As no points of new information were given by the enquirers, it 

 has seemed unnecessary to give a list of the localities written from ; 

 but as the appearance of this Potato caterpillar and its habits have 

 proved to be so entirely unknown in so many places, I give the above 

 figure and just a few observations. 



The Death's-head Moth — which takes its name from a pale ochrey 

 or orange-coloured marking resembling a painting of skull, or death's 

 head, on the tliick black or dark velvety down in the middle of the 

 back — is one of the largest of our British kinds, measuring sometimes 

 from four to five inches in the expanse of the fore wings. These are 

 of a rich brown colour, varied with yellowish and rusty tints, and with 



