210 COMMON BRITISH MOTHS 



of the soil at the foot of the same trees during the autumn, winter, 

 and spring months. 



The fore wings are ashy grey or greyish brown, marbled with 

 darker 'tints, with a conspicuous white spot near the centre. The 

 hind wings are similarly coloured except at the base, where there is 

 a large patch of brick-red. 



The caterpillar is rough, of a pale green colour dotted with yel- 

 low, with seven oblique yellow stripes on each side. The spiracles 

 are white, edged with red ; and the horn is yellow on the upper, 

 and reddish on the under side. Its chief food plants are the 

 poplar, the Lombardy poplar (Populus pyramidalis), aspen 

 (P. tremula), and sallow (Salix Caprea and S. cinerea). 



The Lime Haivk (Smerinthus Tilice) 



This beautiful moth (fig. 5, Plate IX) is easily identified by its 

 rich olive green and brown wings, the fore pair of which have very 

 conspicuous patches of deep olive, sometimes uniting to form a 

 continuous central bar. It flies in May and June. 



The caterpillar is rough, of a pale green colour, dotted with yel- 

 low, with seven oblique yellow stripes on each side. Thus it is very 

 like the larva of Populi, but may be distinguished from that species 

 by the orange spiracles, and by the horn, which is rough, blue above, 

 and yellow beneath. Behind the horn, too, there is a flat purple or 

 violet scale with an edging of orange. 



The food plants of this species are the lime (Tilia vulgaris), 

 elm (Ulmus campestris), and the hazel (Corylus Avellana), from 

 which the larvae may be beaten in August and September, and 

 from under these the pupae may be dug out during the winter 

 months. 



The Humming-Bird Hawk (Macroglossa Stellatarum) 



The genus to which this insect belongs contains three interest- 

 ing British species. Their antennae are thickened toward the end, 

 but terminate in a small curved bristle. Their wings are rather 

 short and broad ; their bodies are very thick, terminating in a broad 

 tuft of hair; and the perfect insects fly during the daytime, 

 delighting in the hottest sunshine. The larvae feed principally on- 

 low-growing plants, and undergo their metamorphoses on the ground 

 among the foliage. 



On Plate IX (fig. 6) one of these pretty moths is shown. It is 



