5 



The caterpillar is dull yellow, verging into green below 

 and towards the head, and with seven slanting purple 

 stripes, their front edge blue and the hind one white, on 

 the sides; the back is minutely dotted with black: the 

 tail is yellowish. Sometimes the caterpillar is brown 

 olive colour, whitish in front, and the stripes darker. 



The date of the appearance of the caterpillar is from the 

 middle of July to the beginning of October. July 7, 20; 

 September 14, 19? 20, 21, 22, 27; October 2, 11. It is 

 very often found in potato-fields, and frequently in con- 

 siderable numbers, some seasons more than others. It 

 sometimes remains more than a year in the chrysalis state. 



It feeds on the potato and the tea tree ( Lycium bar- 

 baruni), but has also been found on the woody nightshade 

 (Solatium dulcamara}, elder, thorn-apple, spindle tree, 

 ash, jessamine, sweat pea, and other trees and plants. 



SPHINX CONVOLVULI. 



CONVOLVULUS HAWK-MOTH; BINU-WEED HAWK-MOTH; 

 UNICORN HAWK-MOTH. 



Plate II. Figure 2. 



THIS insect measures fVom three inches and three quar- 

 ters to four and three quarters: the female is the larger. 

 Male : front wings fine deep ash grey, with an indistinctly 

 defined black bar widely scooped out on the inner side, and 

 other paler and darker waved marks. Hind wings pale 

 ash grey, with a black mark or short bar near the base, 

 two black narrow central streaks which sometimes run 

 together into one wider one, and another round and fol- 

 lowing the margin, much wider at the outer corner. 



Female: front wings without the dark bar, but with two 

 distinct narrow black longitudinal streaks near the middle. 



Localities for this species are, among others, York, Naf- 

 ferton, Lancaster, Aldburgh, Ipswich, Glasgow, Breadsall, 

 Northampton, Kingsland, Peckham, London, Leeds, Chat- 

 teris,Sutton-on-Derwent,Fordingbridge,Kirkstall, Bridge- 



