HEMARIS DIFFINIS 73 



about them, and to feel when any change is about to 

 take place. So it happened that the Other of Us was 

 up at dawn looking at the diffinis box, and saw the first 

 moth emerge. What a surprise it was, too! The 

 Hemaris moths are often called the "clear-winged" 

 moths because their wings are transinarent, except near 

 the body and a band on the edge ; but this moth, and 

 that which quickly followed it up the side of the box, 

 had black wings when they developed enough to be 

 seen clearly. Another and another emerged, and then 

 two or three at once, but all had the dark wings. It 

 was a puzzle. Every other point agreed with the de- 

 scriptions of diffinis. It was a puzzle which we had to 

 leave unsolved for the time, for there was much to do 

 among our boxes, and leaves were to be brought in 

 from the woods and fields. 



It was afternoon before we had another look at the 

 moths, and they were flying about the box in a most 

 lively manner, as they are day-flying moths, feeding at 

 flowers in the hottest sunshine. Then the problem 

 was solved. They were normal specimens in every 

 respect, for the motion of flying had removed all the 

 dark scales from the parts of the wings which should 

 be transparent, and only the shining membrane was to 

 be seen there. Thus we learned one fact which no 

 book had told us — that the wings of H. diffinis were 

 scale-covered until flying rubbed off the scales in cer- 

 tain parts. 



They were very pretty moths. The outer wing- 

 borders were black, while those of the hind wings, next 

 the body, were marked with red. The u])pcr part of 

 the head and thorax was olive-yellow, and the sides 



