322 APPENDIX BY THE 



NOTE EE. 



THE DEATH'S-HEAD MOTH, (acherontia atropos) p. 222. 



This noted moth is one of the most remarkable of Eu- 

 ropean insects. It is the largest of its genus, measuring, 

 when its wings are fully expanded, nearly five inches in 

 breadth. The prevailing colors of its upper wings are 

 dark but rich waves of brown and black, broken by 

 lighter touches and marked with a single white spot. The 

 lower wings are yellowish, barred with black. The head 

 and throat are dark ; upon the upper portions of the 

 throat, and on the body, are stamped with singular distinct- 

 ness, a death's-head and collar bones, such as are usually 

 represented in mortuary devices. It is in consequence of 

 these markings that the Death's-head Moth has become an 

 object of terror to the superstitious. K6aumur mentions 

 a whole convent of nuns being driven to their wits end 

 by the sudden appearance of one of these strange insects 

 flying in at a dormitory window, of a summer's evening. 

 They never showed themselves formerly without causing 

 more or less alarm. In addition to the singular mark 

 on their bodies, these moths are also endowed with a 

 peculiar gift, held to be almost miraculous by the wondor- 

 ing vulgar ; when at all disturbed or irritated, they utter 

 a cry which has been compared to that of a bat. The 

 cause of this sound uttered by an insect whose race is 

 wholly silent, has been a subject of much doubt and con- 

 troversy ; the best opinion would seem that it is produced 

 by the vibration of two horny scales fixed on the thorax 

 and covering a small aperture. To add to the character 

 of this ominous moth, another naturalist has observed that 

 the chrysalis, unlike that of others, is always buried in 

 the earth, and enwrapped in a shroud-like garment. 



The caterpillar of the Death's-head is large, and 



