196 THE DEATH'S-HEAD MOTH 



self violently on the carpet like a passionate child. In- 

 tending to release him out o' window, I tried to throw my 

 handkerchief over him ; but he mistrusted rny motive, 

 and took refuge under the sofa. Upon the said sofa was 

 a crisp chintz cover, reaching to the floor ; the noise the 

 great moth made, flouncing about under it and rattling 

 his wings against the chintz, was prodigious ; the cunning 

 creature seemed to enjoy the game, perching on the least 

 accessible parts of the under side of the sofa/ and dashing 

 off again with an audible squeak each time my hand 

 approached him. Really, we must have presented a very 

 funny group an elderly and, I hope, fairly respectable, 

 country gentleman diving under the furniture at mid- 

 night, making frantic dashes in the uncertain light after 

 an illusive object in black and gold. In the end I secured 

 the animal, and, after causing him to gratify me by a few 

 of his petulant squeals, I set him free in the darkness, 

 hoping that he might find a mate and leave a numerous 

 progeny behind. 



Although Acherontia is certainly more frequent in 

 appearance in Scotland than it was a quarter of a century 

 ago, rare it must always remain in Britain by reason of 

 the habits of the creature. The caterpillar, which is 

 yellowish-green, beautifully banded with violet edged 

 with yellow, is said to have been found feeding on 

 jasmine, sweet-peas, elder, vegetable- marrow, and other 

 plants, but its usual pasture is the foliage of the potato. 

 Before entering the chrysalis stage it buries itself deep in 

 the ground, and by far the larger number of pupae must 

 be disturbed and destroyed when the crop is lifted, or in 

 the ordinary operations of agriculture which follow. 



Truly, the perfect moth is an impressive insect, and it 



