THE DEATH'S HEAD MOTH. 239 



Para, they encountered two large hawk-moths. When 

 pinched the moth seems able to exude an odour, which 

 may be compared to that of jasmine or musk. 



l^hat it is Nomadic in Habit. 



From this discovery of the moth at sea, frequently 

 at a considerable distance from land, and in situations 

 where it is impossible to suppose its presence to be 

 involuntary, there seems no reason to doubt that it is 

 nomadic in habit. It is an insect widely distributed. 

 It is found over the whole of Europe, in Africa, and 

 Western Asia, and in the eastern part of that continent 

 is represented by a closely allied species ; the genus, 

 however, does not appear to occur in America. But 

 while it has this wide geographical range, extending 

 throughout Europe and Western Asia almost to the 

 northern boundary of the colder temperate zone, 

 probably its native home is in sub-tropical regions of 

 India and Africa. In countries or districts within the 

 colder temperate zone, as in Europe, its occurrence is 

 of a somewhat fluctuating character ; generally it is 

 rather scarce, or only common in favourable years. In 

 Great Britain, for instance, it has been found at some 

 time or other in nearly every part of the country, from 

 Land's End even to the Orkney and Shetland Isles ; 



