LEPIDOPTERA. — HEPIALIDA» 375 
The larvee of /Egeria culiciformis and ZZ. formiciformis feed upon the 
wood of the apple, and that of Ageria tipuliformis upon the pith of 
currant trees, about which the perfect insects may be seen flying, in 
the hottest sunshine, with great activity, or basking upon the leaves, 
alternately expanding and shutting their fan-like tails. (See Hayward, 
in Mag. Nat. Hist. No. 17.) 
M. Boisduval has described the transformations of Thyris fenestrina 
in the Annales des Sc. Nat. August, 1828. 
The species of Trochilium, on the other hand, are extremely slug- 
gish in the perfect state, usually resting on the trunks or leaves of 
the trees on which they have been produced, and flying heavily; a 
peculiarity connected with the smallness and weakness of the spiral 
tongue, in which respects, as Mr, Stephens suggests, this genus 
approaches nearer to the Bombycide than A%geria. Independent 
of the interest which these insects possess from their striking analogy 
to other insects (whence the names of hornet hawk-moths, and the 
specific names Crabroniformis, Tipuliformis, Asiliformis, Ichneumoni- 
formis, Vespiformis, &c.), these insects are especially worthy of 
remark, on account of the difficulties connected with their natural 
situation amongst the Lepidopterous tribes. ‘The ordinary location 
assigned to them, with the other species of Linnzean Sphinx, solely, 
as it would seem, from the structure of their antenne, and the ana- 
logical relation existing between them and the clear-winged Sphin- 
gid, is disproved by their habits and transformations ; in which 
latter respect they closely approach Cossus amongst the Hepialide. 
Mr. Newman, indeed, on this account introduces them into his family 
Cossi (including Hepialus, &c.) ; but there are so many characters 
in the imago state, in which the Aigerie differ from all the Hepia- 
lide, that I prefer following Latreille and Stephens in keeping them 
distinct. 
The fifth family Hepi1aLina* is the first group belonging to the 
section Nocturna of Latreille (differing from his Crepuscularia in 


* Bistiocr. Rerer. to THE HeEPriaALine. 
Lyonnet. Traité Anatomique de la Chenille qui ronge le Bois de Saule. La Haye, 
4to. 1760-1762. ; and the general works of Fabricius, Esper, Hubner, Donovan, 
Gedart, Haworth, Stephens, Wood, Cramer, §c. 
BB 4 
