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 color 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 gray, with a single narrow line of 

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



BEFORE 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 SKIPPERS, 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 rest- 

 less, 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. 



DUMOLIN'S HAWK-MOTH.-Smertotfrus Dumollaii. 



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

 means of the pointed tips of their antennae, 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 Sphingidae, a group which contains a great num- 

 ber 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 



