AMPHION NESSUS 



GENUS, AMPHi'oN (a son of Zeus). 

 SPECIES, NES'sus (one of the centaurs). 



We found on the under side of woodbine-leaves 

 some sphingid eggs with a hister like mother-of-pearl, 

 and having colors more or less iridescent. Through 

 the shell we could see the yellowish larva lying curled 

 up, so we knew that the eggs would hatch very soon. 



The next day the pale yellow caterpillars ate their 

 way out, and began to eat and drink — or rather to 

 drink and then to eat — at once. Their heads were 

 large and flat, and had a fold of yellower skin just 

 behind them, not a crest on the first segment, but a 

 fold of skin. The caudal horn was long, slender, 

 straight, and ended in a square-cut tip with a seta at 

 each end. These setae projected almost horizontally 

 on each side of the horn, giving it a branched look. 

 The fourth segment was slightly swollen. 



The caterpillars ate holes through the leaves and 

 grew a little greener after eating. 



Six days later they molted, coming out three times 

 as long as when they hatched, a great increase of size 

 for the first molt. The head was blue-green, with 

 faint white face-lines, flat, and held almost horizontal. 

 The legs and props were blue-green like the body. 



