522 



DUMOLIN'S HAWK-MOTH. 



The present species is a native of Demerara, and is very scarce, not yet having 

 received a name in the catalogue of the British Museum. The colour of the upper wings 

 is brown, with slight streaks of blue radiating from the bases, and that of the lower wings 

 is blue, edged with brown. Below it is brownish grey, with a single narrow line of rusty 

 red crossing both pairs of wings, and a dash of the same colour on the hinder edges. 



BEFOEE taking a final leave of the butterflies, it is necessary to mention a family of 

 Lepidoptera, which possess so many of the characteristics belonging to the butterflies, and 

 so many of those belonging to the moths, that entomologists find some difficulty in placing 

 them in their proper position, some considering them as members of the Rhopalocera, and 

 others as belonging to the Heterocera. These insects are popularly known by the name 

 of SKIPPEES, on account of their short and irregular flight. Several of these insects 

 inhabit Great Britain, and may be found mostly along hedge-banks towards the end of the 

 day. They do not seem to fly very high, but pass in their peculiar jerking fashion along 

 the banks, flitting in and out of the herbage with restless, eager movements, which can 

 never be mistaken for the flight of any other insect. All these creatures have rather 

 large heads, their antennae have a slight hook at the tip, and their wings are small when 

 compared with the dimensions of the body, thus producing the peculiar flight. 



DDMOLIN'3 HAWK-MOTH. SmerintT-.us DumolMi. 



THE second great division of the Lepidoptera is that of the Moths, distinguishable by 

 means of the pointed tips of their antennse, which are often furnished with a row of 

 projections on either side, like the teeth of a comb ; and in the males are sometimes 

 supplied with branching appendages. In most instances the wings are conjoined by 

 means of the bristle and loop which have already been mentioned. 



The first family of the Moths is the Sphingidse, a group which contains a great number 

 of swift-winged insects, popularly and appropriately called Hawk-moths, from the 

 strength and speed of their flight. In many instances the proboscis is of great length, 

 sometimes equalling the length of the entire body, and in such instances it is found that 

 the insect is able to feed while on the wing, balancing itself before a flower, hovering on 



