THE DEATH'S HEAD MOTH. 237 



employed, and the shortness of its tongue compels us to 

 feel rather doubtful of its capability in this direction ; 

 some suppose it to suck not from flowers, but the 

 exuding sap of trees. However, in common with the 

 predilection of most Lepidoptera, it is strongly attracted 

 by honey, and apparently appreciates it in larger 

 quantities than flowers supply, being well known to 

 enter bee-hives when it gets a chance. It has been 

 found trying to gain access to the hives, disposing of all 

 doubts as to the habit, and once inside, its task must be 

 to effect the enjoyment of its meal in peace. This 

 inoffensive creature, its thick skin and downy covering 

 notwithstanding, seems absolutely incapable of resisting 

 its armed assailants. Its huge size may scare the bees, 

 and its stridulous voice has been thought to arrest and con- 

 trol the hostility of this irritable race, in a manner similar 

 to that produced by the song of their queen. If this 

 conjecture be correct, we may ascribe the rare instances 

 in which the moth has been securely fastened down 

 inside the hive to natural death of the moth therein, the 

 bees, being unable to eject so bulky an object, having 

 taken the precaution to embalm its body with the 

 glutinous substance called propolis ; indeed, this cir- 

 cumstance could not well occur to a living moth, 

 ineffectual though it be, unless it were completely 

 stupefied by gorging on the honey. In the south of 

 Europe, in some years, it becomes very injurious in this 



