862 INSECTA—MOTH. 
THE DEATH’S HEAD MOTH. 

Tuis beautiful insect is one of the 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 MOTHe 

Tue 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 


1 Acherontia atropos, Lin. 2 Bombyx mori, Lin 
17 tig up 
