HAWK-MOTHS. 51 
THE COMMON DOUBLE-EYED SPHINX. 
(Smerithus geminatus Say ). 
This is one of the most common species of hawk-moths 
found in Minnesota. The caterpillars feed upon a variety of 
plants, such as the apple, plum, ash, willow, birch and 
others. 
The mature caterpillar is about two and a fourth 
inches long, of an apple-green color, somewhat lighter 
above, with pale green or whitish granulations over the 
surface. Its head has a yellow stripe on each side, and 
there are seven oblique stripes on each side of the body, of a 
pale yellow color, except the last one, which is bright yel- 
low. There is also a stripe on the side of the forward seg- 
ments. The anal shield and plates are granulated and of a 
darker green than the rest of the upper surface, but of the 
same color as the under surface. The caudal horn is slightly 
curved, of a violet color and granulated (Fernald). It is 
not an uncommon occurrence to find some of these green 
worms marked with a series of bright red spots along 
their sides, as shown in Fig. 55, Plate XV. 
The moth (Fig. 56, Plate VIII), which expands two and 
a half inches, has a pale gray head and thorax;in the middle 
of the latter is a rich, dark brown triangular spot, which is. 
rounded in front and widened out behind. Both abdomen 
and under side of body are brownish-gray. The gray fore- 
wings have a rosy tint in some examples; the discal spot is 
whitish, bordered with dark brown, and a dark brown line, 
edged on the inside with white, starts from the basal third 
of the costa at right angles with it, and runs about half 
way across the wing, where it forms nearly a right angle, 
and then runs across to the hinder margin. The lower part 
of this line is wider, and shades off on the outer side. A 
broad, dark-brown, oblique stripe starts at this line and 
ends at a narrow, wavy, pale band, which crosses the outer 
