THE LIME HAWK MOTH. 



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tremulous wing, and extracting the sweets by suction. In some cases, however, such 

 as the well known death's-head moth, the proboscis is very short, barely exceeding the 

 length of the head. In the long-tongued Hawk-moths the chrysalis is furnished with a 

 distinct horny case, in which the elongated proboscis can be packed during the period 

 occupied in development. In the genus Smerinthus the wings are sharp and angu- 

 lated, and the tongue is short. 



& 



ONE of the commonest species of this genus is the LIME HAWK-MOTH, so called be- 

 cause the larva feeds on the leaves of the lime-tree. It is a green caterpillar, thick 

 bodied, covered with little protuberances, and upon each side are some whitish streaks 

 edged with red or yellow. Just at the end of the tail there is a short knobby protu- 

 berance, and the forepart of the body is rather narrow. When the larva has com- 



LIME HAWK-MOTH. Smeriathus Tllix. 



DEATH'S-HEAD MOTH. Acheroatla Atropos. (And larva.) 



pleted its time of feeding, it descends to the ground, and buries itself about eighteen 

 inches deep in the earth, whence the chrysalis may be extracted in the winter by 

 the help of a pickaxe and trowel. Beside the lime, the elm and birch are favored 

 residences of this insect. The Lime Hawk-moth is shown in the curious attitude 

 which it assumes while in repose, the wings being held well away from the object to 

 which it clings. 



Although very common in some places, it seems to be rather local, being scarcely il 

 ever found in many spots where the trees which it loves are abundant. About Oxford 

 it is extremely plentiful, and I have reared hundreds of the insects, both from the 

 larva taken from the trees, and the pupa obtained by digging. The color is very 

 variable, but the general tints are leaf -brown and green, with a few blackish spots and 

 stripes, the brown being towards the base and the olive-green towards the tips of the 

 wing. 



