202 THE INSECT WOELD. 



above with greenish hairs. This species is exceedingly rare here, 

 but is plentiful on the Continent during the months of June and 

 September. 



The larva (Fig. 182) is one of the most remarkable of the 

 genus on account of the splendour and the vividness of its colours, 

 and appears to be covered with varnish. It has a number of small 

 yellow dots very close to each other on a glossy black ground, which 



Fig. 182. Larva of Deilepliila euphorbiee. 



are ranged in circles. On each side of the body are two longi- 

 tudinal rows of spots generally of the same colour as the dots, 

 and a narrow band of carmine runs down the middle of the back, 

 and a similar band, which is intersected by yellow, is to be seen 

 above the legs. This caterpillar is almost always found on the 

 Cyprus-leafed spurge. It is found first at the end of June. 

 Generally the chrysalis passes through the winter, and the moth 

 emerges in the following year. 



The Deilephila (Chcerocampa) nerii (Fig. 183), or Oleander 

 Hawk-moth, is a charming species almost peculiar to hot countries, 

 where the shrub from which it derives its name grows spontaneously, 

 that is to say, in Africa, in the southern parts of Asia, in Greece, 

 in Spain, &c. Carried forward by its rapid flight, and assisted 

 by atmospheric currents, these beautiful insects sometimes come 

 accidentally into the countries of central Europe. They have 

 been met with many times in Paris, in the garden of the 

 Luxembourg, where the Oleander is cultivated under glass. But 

 those which are hatched in the environs of Paris never reproduce 

 their species, on account of the coldness of the climate. Both 

 larva and imago, the former on Periwinkle, have occurred here. 

 It abounds in the south of France. 



