THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH. 



671 



reader can form a good idea of the appearance of the insect by 

 doubling in his eye the distance between the tips of the wings, 

 and then tracing an imaginary outline of the Moth. The insect 

 is a native of Mexico. 



In colour this has darkeT and deeper hues than the pre- 

 ceding insect. Taking dark brown as the ground colour, wo 



Fio. 405.— Saraia Calleta. 

 (Dark -brown, grey, dun, and white.) 



find near the base of the upper wings an angular stripe of 

 greyish dun, followed by a triangular spot of grey. A narrow 

 and slightly waving bar of pale dun traverses the whole wing, 

 and then becomes of a much lighter brown, warming to chestnut 

 towards the edge. Both pairs of wings are coloured in much 

 the same way, except that the waving bar which in the upper 

 wings is pale dun, becomes nearly white in the lower wings. 



It is to be supposed that the specific name of Polyphemus was 

 given to the accompanying insect on account of the eye-shaped 

 marks on its wings. The Polyphemus of mythology, however, 

 had but one eye, whereas the Moth has four, so that the only 



