94 CHAPTER XII. 



representation of a pair of spectacles. These markings 

 are so conspicuous that it is impossible even for a 

 beginner to mistake the insect. If you have the good 

 fortune to find the larva of this rare Sphinx, you may 

 still be a long way from obtaining the imago, for they 

 are very difficult to bring out. A lepidopterist at 

 Cannes told me that out of forty larvae he obtained 

 but two or three moths. 



Euphorbia spinosa forms bright green cushions 

 on the rocky ground. The last year's twigs dry up 

 and turn to spines. On this species the gregarious 

 caterpillars of Bombyx alpicola are common ; they 

 feed up in April and May, and the chocolate brown 

 moth emerges after a very short delay in the pupa 

 stage. The white eggs are laid so as to form an 

 elegant collar round the stem of the food plant. 

 These larvae pupate freely, spinning their cocoon in 

 any shady corner ; but when the moths emerge, they 

 will destroy themselves in a very few minutes if 

 permitted to fly about in the cage. The male is 

 smaller and much lighter in colour. 



I have seen the Caper Spurge (E. lathyris) but 

 once on the Riviera. The name seems to imply that 

 the fruits of this plant are edible, and I knew a person 

 who cultivated and ate them ; but I can find in my 

 botanical books no mention of the fact that they are 

 eatable. 



I take the following from Bicknell's " Flora of 

 Bordighera," p 252. E. lathy ris is used in Italy by 

 vine growers, who smear the poisonous juice on the 

 grape bunches to keep them from being eaten. [A 

 similar use is made of the Ecbalium : see Chapter 16.] 

 The same botanist adds that at Bordighera this 



