EYED HAWK MOTH. *> 



a half inches in length, and the other more than two inches. These were 

 very characteristic examples, and had arrived at the fom-th moult, in 

 which the tips of the lobes of the head above the face become shortened 

 above, and lose the red tint (see description by AV. Buckler previously 

 referred to). The leafage of one of the Apple shoots, sent accompany- 

 ing, had been eaten away right doAvn to the footstalks ; but whether 

 this was entirely the work of the Hawk Moth caterpillars, or the other 

 moth caterpillar accompanying had helped at the mischief, was un- 

 certain. "^^ This, however, was immaterial, the Hawk Moth caterpillars 

 being known to be very destructive. The chrysalis is red-brown, and 

 from this the moth comes out in the following summer. The size and 

 shape of this is given at fig. 1, p. 1. It varies from about two and a 

 quarter to three inches in the spread of the fore wings, which are rosy 

 brown or ash, with olive-brown markings ; the hinder wings are rosy, 

 shading to brown or grey at the margin, each wing bearing a large 

 eye-like spot, grey in the centre, with a blue ring outside, and this 

 again surrounded by a black ring. From this eye like spot the 

 " Eyed" Hawk Moth takes its name. 



The moth appears about midsummer, earlier or later as the case 

 may be ; but the caterpillars are rarely sent me until they are full- 

 grown, or nearly so, and attention is drawn to their presence by the 

 mischief they are causing amongst the leafage. 



When this is observable, the best remedy would certainly be to 

 pick off all the caterpillars in reach, and (to remove those not in reach 

 of mere hand-picking) a deal might probably be done by knocking 

 them off individually with a long light pole. Jarring the boughs, or 

 spraying, would be eminently objectionable treatment to trees with 

 maturing crop ; but with great grubs like these, even if they could not 

 be loosened from their hold by the end of a pole, many might be 

 cleared by having a spud fixed at the end of it, — thus a sharp blow 

 could be given to the grub on an infested leaf, or by running the edge 

 of the spud upward beneath a grub on a shoot it could be scraped off. 

 Or again, with the help of a long-handled pair of small nippers any 

 leaves on which tliese great caterpillars were seen at work could easily 

 be cut ofi' so as to fall with the grub. 



* This caterpillar was a larva of the Notodonta (Lophopteryx) camelina, L., 

 popularly the " Coxcomb Prominent " Moth. This is a pretty caterpillar, which is 

 said to vary much in colour. The specimen sent was of the variety which is whitish 

 green along the back. Along the side is a pale spiracular line ; the spiracles are 

 black, with a pink spot behind each ; and above the tail are two tubercles tipped 

 with pink. The length when full-grown is about an inch and a third, and the 

 caterpillar feeds on many kinds of leafage. The autumn caterpillars have been 

 recorded as spinning up in a cocoon of line silk mixed with earth during October. 

 Descriptions and figures of moth and larva) will be found in Newman's 'British 

 Moths,' and otliers of our publications on British Lepidoptera. 



b2 



