AUGUST. 259 



spot, see the large moth suspended on the wing in front of 

 a blossom ; presently one is seen in another direction ; then 

 another, and another ; and the small moths begin to swarm, 

 and hurry from flower to flower, seeming to increase with 

 the increasing darkness, until the eye fails to follow them, 

 but still dimly sees the swift- winged hawk-moth, directed by 

 the more acute perception of the ear. They are large and 

 thick, though of a graceful shape, and possess considerable 

 muscular strength ; I have had them actually within my 

 fingers, yet have failed to hold them, as they have forced 

 their way out by the mere strength of their wings. On 

 almost every one that I caught, there were little soft club- 

 shaped filaments, about one-sixth of an inch long, projecting 

 from the head, generally from the eyes : do you know what 

 they are ? 



FATHER. They are parts of the milkweed blossom, 

 which adhere to the head of the insect, when eagerly suck- 

 ing the nectar, and come away with it. I was much at a 

 loss myself when I first observed them, but having seen the 

 same substances, in the south, attached to the heads of 

 Swallow-tailed Butterflies (Papilio) which I had taken in 

 the act of sucking an allied species, the Orange Milkweed 

 (Asdepias Incarnata}, I had no longer any doubt of their 

 origin. They are the little bags of pollen, that I mentioned 

 before, which are found within the anthers. 



C. Among these I have taken another species, some- 

 what resembling them, but not nearly so pretty, the Grey 

 Hawk-moth (Sphinx Cinerea) ; this appears rare. I have 

 netted also some very beautiful Noctuce, the Twin Gold- 

 spot, (Plusia Iota ?) the Gold and Silver, ( P. Festucce ?) 

 the Green Gold ( P. Chrysitis ?), and the Spangled Orange 



C %); the last two exceedingly splendid: the Royal 



Tiger Moth (Arctia Virgo), a handsome Bombyx, is become 

 common. 



