170 



BRANCH ARTHROPODA 



The state fought it in every possible way, employing hundreds of men in 

 spraying, trunk-banding, and egg-collecting. From 1890 to 1900 Massa- 

 chusetts spent more than a million dollars in keeping this moth in check. 

 The hawk moths (Sphin'gidce), sphynx moths (Fig. 141), or humming- 

 bird moths have a stout, spindle-shaped body and long, narrow, exceed- 

 ingly strong wings. The sucking tube is very long, sometimes twice as 

 long as the body. When not in use, it is coiled up beneath the head like a 

 watch-spring. Their rich varied tints of olive, tan, black, or yellow, always 

 subdued, save for an occasional dash of bright color on the under parts, 

 mark them as rarely beautiful creatures. As a rule, these moths love the 



Fig. 141. Tomato-worm or tobacco-worm: larva, pupa, 

 (After Walsh and Riley, Am. Ent.) 



and adult. 



twilight, and strangely resemble the humming-birds from their habit of rap- 

 idly vibrating their wings while poising themselves over a flower and suck- 

 ing its nectar. 



The larva, naked and cylindric, usually has a " horn " on the back of the 

 eighth abdominal segment. These caterpillars are usually green with 

 several oblique light-colored or whitish lines on each side (see Fig. 141). 

 When resting these caterpillars " rear the front of the body up in the air, 

 curl the head down in a most majestic manner, and remain thus rigidly 

 motionless for hours." 1 They are thus supposed to resemble the Egyptian 

 sphynx, hence the name, sphynx moth. They feed upon the leaves of 



1 Kellogg, 331. 



