THE PROMINENTS 3061 



black base, a deep crimson transverse bar, followed by a narrower black one a little 

 beyond the middle; and the thorax and abdomen green, the latter with white sides. 

 The caterpillar is black, speckled with yellow, having a dorsal rose-colored central 

 line, a row of yellow spots along either side, and another below of red and yellow 

 spots blended. It feeds on the sea spurge from July to September. In the figure 

 on p. 3058 the larva is repelling the attack of an ichneumon, by ejecting noxious 

 fluid into its face. 



The pine hawk moth {Sphinx pinastri} belongs to the typical subfamily 

 (Sphingince) , and is a dull gray species, scarcely to be discerned as it rests on the 

 similarly tinted bark of the pine trees on which the larva feeds. The moth lays her 

 pale green eggs upon the pine needles, and in about a fortnight the larvae emerge, 

 and at once attack the needles. They have occurred in such abundance on the 

 Continent as to ruin whole forests of pine trees, to the extent of many thousand 

 acres. Although the moth is common throughout Europe, and several specimens 

 have been taken in England, it is very doubtful whether a genuine British-bred 

 specimen has ever occurred. The larva, which changes to a pupa beneath the 

 earth, is green, with narrow longitudinal bands of red and white; these lines being 

 naturally a great protection amid the longitudinal lights and shades of the pine 

 needles. The species is figured on p. 3039. 



Yet another subfamily (Macroglosstnee) is represented by the humming-bird 

 hawk moth (Macroglossa stellataruni) , shown in the figure on p. 3055. This small 

 and swift species, which hovels with a darting, fluttering course over flower beds 

 in the sunshine, is double brooded, and occurs almost all the year round. It has 

 often been mistaken for a humming bird, whose flight it closely resembles, while 

 travelers familiar with the latter mistake the long proboscis from which the moth de- 

 rives its generic name for the slender bill of the humming bird. The fore-wings are 

 dark black brown, and the hind-wings pale copper red. The sides of the abdomen 

 are blotched with white, its extremity being thickly tufted. The larva is green or 

 pinkish brown, with a pale stripe along the sides; and feeds on the lady's bed 

 straw. The autumn brood of larvae hibernate in the pupa state, the perfect insects 

 emerging in the spring. 



THE PROMINENTS Family NOTODONTID& 



These moths which are of moderate size, with stout, hairy bodies, long, ample 

 wings, sometimes with a tooth-like tuft of scales on the inner margin are very 

 similar in general appearance to members of the family of owl moths {Nochridee}. 

 The antennae are usually pectinate in the male, and simple in the female, but in some 

 genera comb-like in both sexes. The larvae, which in many species assume strange 

 abnormal shapes and attitudes, are smooth and shiny, and without the last pair of 

 claspers. In some cases the terminal segment bears a pair of tail-like processes, 

 which can be raised or depressed, spread widely apart, or closed at pleasure. When 

 full fed, the larva forms a tough .cocoon, covered with chips of wood or other dbris, 

 in which it turns to a pupa. The perfect insects fly at night, and may sometimes 



