126 BKITISH BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 



brown at the hind margin, with a large, round, bluish 

 eye-like spot near the anal angle, which forms a 

 beautiful contrast with the rosy ground-colour. 



The larva has the skin rough and the head pointed ; 

 above it is apple-green, dotted with white, on each side 

 are seven oblique white stripes, bordered above with 

 dark green ; the conical horn on the twelfth segment is 

 rough, of a sky-blue colour, the tip being greenish or 

 blackish. This handsome and conspicuous larva feeds 

 on willow, poplar, apple, etc., in the month of August. 



The perfect insect appears about the middle of May, 

 and may be met with up to the beginning of July ; we 

 generally see it sitting on palings and trunks of trees, 

 but its beautiful hind-wings are then concealed by the 

 fore-wings, so that it has a sombre and gloomy appear- 

 ance. 



FAMILY II. SPHINGID^E. 



SME1HNTHUS POPULI. THE POPLAR HAWK- 

 MOTH. 



This is more plentiful than the preceding, and not 

 restricted in its northern range, being common in Scot- 

 land; also common in Ireland. 



The expansion of the wings is from 2J to nearly 3J 

 inches. The fore-wings are ashy-grey, clouded with 

 pale brown ; the hind-wings are of a brick-red colour at 

 the base, then pale brownish-grey. 



The larva has the skin rough, and the head pointed 

 above; it is apple-green, dotted with yellow, on each 

 side are seven oblique yellow lines ; it closely resembles 

 the larva of the preceding species, but is distinguished 

 by the colour of the rough, conical horn on the twelfth 



