2 EYED HAWK MOTH. 



I first began the study of insects, namely, an 

 easy introduction to works of a more strictly 

 scientific character. 



It will be as well to preface that the order of 

 insects called Lepidoptera, to which the Moths 

 belong, is distinguished by the feathery scales 

 which cover their wings. They pass through 

 three distinct changes of form after they quit 

 the egg : firstly, the larva or caterpillar ; secondly, 

 the pupa, or chrysalis, or aurelia, as it is called ; 

 and lastly the imago, or perfect insect. All these 

 characteristics are common both to the Moths 

 and Butterflies, but the young naturalist will 

 have no difficulty in distinguishing between 

 these great divisions of the Lepidoptera, if he 

 wiU remember that the Butterflies have their 

 antennae or horns ending in a little knob, whereas 

 the antennae of the Moths are pointed. 



We wiU now take the first insect on our list, the 

 Eyed Hawk Moth (Smerinthus ocellatus), (Plate 

 I. fig. 1), which is selected as the representative 

 of its genus. The Hawk Moths owe their popu- 

 lar name to the swiftness of their flight, in which 

 they bear much the same place among Lepidop- 

 tera as the hawk among bii'ds. The average span 

 of wings of this Moth is about three inches. 



DS\ 



