196 



EREBUS CREPUSCULARIS. 

 PLATE XXV. Fig. 1. 



Phal. (Attacus) erepuscularis, Linn., Drury^s Eocot. Ins., vol. 

 pi. 20, figs. 1,2; Cramer, Pap. Exot., pi. 159, fig. A. 



This genus, which corresponds to that named Thy- 

 sania, by Dalraan, was established by Latreille, for 

 the reception of a group of exotic moths, which he 

 was of opinion should be separated from the Noc- 

 tuidse. They bear the wings always extended and 

 horizontal, and the last joint of the palpi is long, 

 slender, and naked. The genus comprises some of 

 the most gigantic moths with which we are ac- 

 quainted ; in particular, the Erebus strix, or great 

 owl-moth of Brazil, which measures about a foot 

 from tip to tip of the expanded wings. The cater- 

 pillar of this superb moth, " the glory of the Noc- 

 tuida?," as it is termed by Kirby, is of a black 

 colour, with transverse green bands and a lateral 

 stripe, bearing pretty long tufts of fine hair, and 

 having an anal horn like the larva of a sphinx. (See 

 Merian's Surinam Insects, pi. 20.) Not greatly in- 

 ferior in size is the E. odora, which occurs in many 

 of the West Indian islands. The prevailing hues 

 among them are very dark, and they are frequently 



