78 INSECTA TRANSVAALIENSIA. 



Smerinthm dumoHini, Walk. Cat. Lepid. Heteroc. Brit. Mas. viii. p. 250 (185G); Feld. Reise Novara, 



Lepid. iv. pi. Ixxxii. fig. 2 (1874). 

 Eitclea dumolinii, Boisd. Spec. Gen. L^pid. Heteroc. i. p. 15 (1875). 

 Lophostethus diimclinii, Biitl. Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. vol. ix. p. 585 1877) ; Kirby, Syn. Cat. Lepid. Heteroc. 



vol. i. p. 705 (1892) ; Diat. Aun. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6) vol. xix. p. 579 (1897). 

 La^\a.— Lophostethus ilutiiolinii, Trimen in Weism. ' Studies in Theory of Descent,' Engl. Transl. p. 527 



(1882) ; Fawcett, Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond. vol. xv. p. 307, pi. slviii. fig. 7 (1901). 



Larva. — Ground colour very pale green, a pair of blue-black steely branched spines tvith pale yellow 

 bases and basal areas subdorsally on each somite, from 2nd to 10th. The 1st somite has no spines, and the 

 11th has only one spine, thicker than the others, and replacing the horn in other species. A lateral ro2v of 

 smaller black spines springing from the upper edge of a spiractdar row of large yelloiu spots; a subspiracular 

 row of small black spines springing from lotver edge of above-mentioned spots, and below these two spines placed 

 diagonally on the 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th somites just above the claspers ; the 5th somite having three spines, 

 and the 2nd, 3rd, and 10th somites one spine each in this series. Abdominal claspers yelloic, with black 

 extremities, each extremity bearing three short black divergent spines ; anal extremity and claspers horny and 

 rxifous, with a broad black edging. Head pale green superiorly, pale ferruginous inferiorly ; tivo black vertical 

 stripes on the face, ending with a detached black spot above them. Sides of head black, as in the larva of 

 Acheroutia atropos. Thoracic legs pale ferruginous, banded with black (Fawcett). 



Hab. — Transvaal; Pretoria (Distant). 



Larva feeds on Hibiscus tiliaceus, Linn. When full-fed, the larva burrows under ground, 

 and forms a sort of chamber with a web, in which it undergoes its transformation. The 

 specimens reared remained in the pupal condition from February till the following October 

 (Fawcett). At Durban the larva feeds on Grenia occidentalis (A. Eoss). 



"When in the Transvaal I found this a very difficult species to procure. I had seen a 

 specimen in the Pretoria Museum, and determined to find it myself, but I spent three years 

 in the quest before success attended my efforts. Even then I only obtained it by a fluke. 

 Late one night I revisited an electric lamp which always received my attention every evening 

 during the summer season, and on the ground at its base I picked up a lovely specimen of 

 this long-sought Moth. Near this lamp was the home of my good friend Kruger, a close 

 relation of the then President, and who always did what he could to assist my pursuits, for 

 we only argued then, and had not come to fighting. He had taken a single specimen the 

 previous night, being attracted by its size, and had duly impaled the same on a French nail, 

 and kept it for me. These are the only two specimens I met with during four years' 

 residence in Pretoria. 



Mr. Harrison Dyar has recently minutely and exhaustively studied the larva of this 

 species, with reference to the supposed relationship of the Saturniidse and Sphingidse. He 

 concludes that this larva "is a true Sphinx, not more nearly related to the Ceratocampids 

 than any other Sphinx, since it possesses true Sphingid tubercles, IV above V and before the 

 spiracle, not united with V as in all the Saturnian phylum. Functionally, indeed, it is a 

 Saturnian like the African Saturnians, with thorn-like tubercles ; but the character is 

 evidently adaptational, an irregular hypertrophy of the tubercles superimposed on the 

 phylogenetic characters of the Sphiugid*." * 



■-:• Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, iv. pp. 440-2 (1901). 



