212 COMMON BRITISH INSECTS. 



THE next family is that of the Sesiadse, or Clear- 

 wings, the members of which have a wonderful resem- 

 blance to certain bees, wasps, and flies, their wings 

 being translucent, and their bodies being elongated 

 and narrow, quite unlike those of the preceding 

 insects. The antennae have no feathering, and are 

 very often tipped with a small tuft of hairs. The 

 tongue is not nearly so long as in the preceding genus, 

 and in most cases the end of the abdomen is tipped 

 with a spreading brush of hair. 



OUR first example of these remarkable Moths is 

 the POPLAR HORNET CLEAR-WING (Sesia apiformis), 

 which affords one of the best examples of imitation 

 that I know. Only a few hours before writing this 

 account, I was looking over some rather neglected 

 drawers of insects, on the glass of which a slight layer 

 of dust had been allowed to accumulate. I knew that 

 a Hornet Clear-wing was among them, and yet the 



insect twice escaped 

 observation, so strongly 

 does it resemble the 

 hornet both in colour 

 and shape. 



The upper wings of 

 this insect are trans- 

 parent, with a slight 

 Sesia apifbrmis. yellowish tinge, and a 



narrow, dark border. The head is yellow, and there 

 is a yellow patch on either side of the brown thorax. 

 The abdomen is yellow, with a broad dark-brown 

 band near the middle, and a very narrow band of a 



