86 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. 



in June, and is very handsome. The body is fawn-colored ; 

 on the top of the thorax is a chestnut-colored stripe, and on 

 the abdomen a dark-brown line. The front wings are fawn- 

 colored, clouded and striped with brown ; the hind wings are 

 rose-colored in the middle, with a brownish patch at the 

 tip, crossed by two or three short whitish lines, and having 

 near the inner angle a black spot with a pale-blue centre. 

 This moth measures, when its wings are spread, about three 

 inches across. 



It is comparatively a rare insect, and has never been known 

 to cause any serious injury. While partial to the apple-tree, 

 the caterpillar will also feed on the plum and wild cherry. 

 The moth remains hidden during the day, but becomes very 

 active at dusk. 



No, 32. The Apple Sphinx. 



Sphinx Gor dins Cram. 



This insect belongs to the same family as No. 31, viz., the 

 Sphingidse, or Sphinx family, and there is a general re- 

 semblance between the two species in all their stages. The 

 larva of the apple sphinx is a thick, cylindrical, apple-green 

 caterpillar, about two and a half inches long, with a reddish- 

 brown horn projecting from the hinder part of its back, and 

 with seven oblique stripes along each side, of a violet color, 

 margined behind with white. 



Late in the autumn it leaves off feeding and buries itself 

 deeply in the earth, where it changes to a brown chrysalis 

 with a short detached tongue-case. Here it remains until 

 the following season. 



The perfect insect is a strong, narrow- winged moth, which 

 appears on the wing from the latter part of May to the end 

 of June. (Fig. 85.) Its fore wings are dark brown, varied 

 with ash-gray, with black streaks within the veins, and a 

 white dot near the middle, resting on a long black line. The 

 hind wings are gray, with a band across the middle, and a 

 wide marginal band of black. The fringes of the wings are 



