THE CURRANT HAWK MOTH. 



are, for the most part, rather rare, the habits are 

 generally very similar to those of the Lime Hawk 

 Moth ; their caterpillars are large, furnished with a 

 caudal horn, and generally exhibit a curious habit, 

 when at rest, of adhering to their point of support 

 by their prolegs alone, raising the fore part of the 

 body and bending the head a little downwards, an 

 attitude which has caused them to be fancifully com- 

 pared to the Sphinx of the Egyptians ; hence the 

 name given to the typical genus, and through it to 

 the tribe. The caterpillars of the genus Sesia and 

 its allies are destitute of the caudal horn, and instead 

 of devouring the leaves of plants, feed for the most 

 part in the interior of their stems, or under the bark 

 of trees. The larva of the commonest species, the 

 Currant Hawk Moth (Sesia tipuliformis) , lives in the 

 interior of the stems of the currant and gooseberry, 

 feeding upon the pith, and undergoes its transforma- 

 tions in the cavity thus formed. The perfect insect, 

 which appears in June, is a beautiful little creature, 

 entirely covered with shining blue-black hairs, which 

 form a broad expansible tuft at the extremity of the 

 abdomen ; the wings are transparent, with the tip and 

 the nervures blackish, the former marked with lon- 

 gitudinal lines of golden-yellow; the abdomen also 

 is banded with yellow. Like the Humming-bird 

 Hawk Moth, this insect is active in the daytime, 

 flying vigorously in the hot sunshine, and it may 

 frequently be seen hovering over our garden flowers. 

 The allied species are also furnished with clear wings 

 and banded bodies, characters which often give them 

 a singular resemblance to Hymenopterous insects, and 

 from this their specific names are generally derived. 

 Besides these, we find another form which differs 



