862 



INSECTA— MOTH. 



THE DEATH'S HEAD MOTH.i 



This beautiful insect is one of tlie rarest of the moths, and is found only 

 in warm places. It alights on particular flowers, among which are the 

 jasmine, the potato, and the wild solanums. Of its four wings, the feath- 

 ers of which are particularly fine and glossy, the upper pair are of a rich dark 

 gray, marked with white and orange ; while the under pair are of a glowing 

 orange, with irregular black bands. The upper part of the abdomen is 

 orange, barred with black. The most remarkable part of this insect, how- 

 ever, is a sort of representation of a death's head, which appears on the 

 superior portion of the thorax. This is formed by a large irregular gray 

 patch, having two black dots near the middle. 



THE SILK-WORM MOTH. 2 



The silk-worm came originally from the northern provinces of China. 

 Before the introduction of the animal into Europe, silk was sold for more 

 than its weight in gold. The Greek missionaries in the reign of Justinian 

 transported the ova of the silk-worm in reeds, for the first time, to Constan- 

 tinople. The cultivation of this useful animal was thus extended to Southern 



' Acherontia atropos, Lin. 



* BomJyyx mori, Lin. 



