SPHINX. SPHINX. 



Generic Character. 



Antenna inedio crassiores, 

 - seu utraque extremitate 



attenuate, subprisma- 



ticse. 

 Al<e deflexae (volatu gravi- 



ore vespertine seu matu- 



tino.) 



Antenna thickest in the 

 middle, subprismatic, and 

 attenuated at each ex- 

 tremity. 



Wings deflected. (Flight 

 strong, and commonly in 

 the evening or morning.) 



-I H E Insects of this genus are sometimes called 

 by the title of Hawk-Moths, and have in general 

 a large thorax and thick body, commonly taper- 

 ing towards the extremity. The flight of the 

 larger kinds is chiefly confined to the evening or 

 early morning hours, few species appearing on 

 the wing in the middle of the day. The name 

 Sphinx is applied to the genus on account of the 

 posture assumed by the larvae of several of the 

 larger species, which are often seen in an attitude 

 much resembling that of the Egyptian Sphinx, 

 viz. with the fore-parts elevated, and the rest of 

 the body applied flat to the surface. 



One of the most elegant insects of this genus is 

 the Sphinx Ligustri or Privet Hawk-Moth. It is 

 a large insect, measuring nearly four inches and a, 



