174 Animal Life 
impression; but my friend decided not to carry such moths in his hat again. Hawk-moths 
do not readily lay eggs in confinement. They take their name “Hawk” from their swift 
and powerful flight; and it is not often that they give a second chance when once missed 
by the entomologist. The only way is to steal a march upon them as they hover over 
some flower; or, better still, not to march at all, 
but take your stand, net in hand, close to some 
large clump of their favourite flowers, and there 
wait like a statue until a moving shadow 
seems to pass suddenly before you among the 
flowers; then if you strike quickly you may be 
fortunate im capturing the prize. 
The Humming-Bird Hawk-Moth is not in- 
frequently seen in the London parks in August 
and September, flitting from flower to flower 
of the Nicotiana. 1 have often watched it im 
my own garden darting rapidly from flower 
to flower of the white jessamine. The larvee 
are found feeding upon the garden fuchsia. 
The beautiful Privet Hawk is another mem- 
ber of this charming group found in London 
gardens, where the Hnglish privet is plentiful, 
but the larve do not relish the soot-laden 
leaves, preferring to go further afield. I have 
had a number sent to me from the country, 
very few of which have been able to digest 
our smoke and dust. 
The hardiest of all, the Poplar Hawk, 
sometimes reaches more than four inches across 
the wings. These are not of so pointed a 
character as those of the Privet Moth, whose 
wings when at rest are roofed down close to 
the body, which is completely hidden. In 
the three species belonging to the genus 
Smerinthus, the outer margins of the wings 
are beautifully scalloped, both upper and lower 
wings being held half open away from the 
body, with the tips considerably raised. In this 
loose attitude the Poplar Hawk much resembles 
many things, from a dead leaf to the cross- 
bar underneath a street gas lamp—a favourite 
resting-place for this moth. The last specimen 
caught this year I found early one morning 
attached to this lever. Of course, when 
in such a situation, the capture necessitates 
“swarming” the lamp-post. The eggs are scat- 
tered in twos and threes generally on the 
underside of the leaves of various Iinds of 
poplars. On hatching, the young larva “takes hold” of the thin leaf-stalk with its 
powerful claspers, the rest of its body being hidden underneath the leaf, and “come 
wind or tempest”? the larva holds on like grim death, any attempt to pull it off its 
food beime fatal. 
