THE .EGERIANS. 



329 



like humming-birds, Fig. 156. 



during the daytime, 



in the months of Jul y 



and August. Their 



caterpillars bear a 



general resemblance 



to those of the genus 



Sphinx, and, as far 



as they are known, 



seem to possess the 



same habits. 



The JEgerians (JEoERiAD^;) constitute a very distinct 

 group among Sphinges. They are easily recognized, in the 

 perfected or winged state, by their resemblance to bees, 

 hornets, or wasps, by their narrow wings, which are mostly 

 transparent, and by the tufts or brush at the end of the 

 body, Avhich they have the power of spreading out like a fan 

 at pleasure. They fly only in the daytime, and frequently 

 alight to bask in the sunshine. Their habits, in the cater- 

 pillar state, are entirely different from those of the other 

 Sphinges ; the latter living exposed upon plants whose 

 leaves they devour, while the caterpillars of the JEgerians 

 are concealed within the stems or roots of plants, and 

 derive their nourishment from the wood and pith. Hence 

 they are commonly called borers, a name, however, which 

 is equally applicable to the larvae or young of many insects 

 of other orders. 



The caterpillars of the ^Egerians are whitish, soft, and 

 slightly downy. Like those of other Sphinges they have 

 sixteen feet, but they are destitute of a thorn or prominence 

 on the last segment of the body. When they have come 

 to their full size, they enclose themselves in Fi 15 _ 



oblong oval cocoons (Fig. 157), made of 

 fragments of wood or bark cemented by a 

 gummy matter, and within these are trans- 

 formed to chrysalids. The latter are of a shining bay color, 

 42 



