AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS. 25 



regular succession of tlio insect during tlio summer, partially influenced by tlie state of the weather. "This 

 interesting sjiecics in the winged state frequents gardens, flying in .sunny weather between the hours of ten and 

 twelve in the morning, and those of two and four in the afternoon. Its food is the nectareous juice of tube- 

 bearing flowers. This it extracts with amazing address by the assistance of its exserted spiral tono-uo, inimitably 

 poising itself all the while on rapidly vibrating wings ; whence its name of Humming-bird. It is delightful 

 indeed, to the entomological eye of an Aurelian, to behoM and contemplate the dexterity exhibited by this 

 charming insect whilst it sails, all gaiety and grace, round the tall sprig of a larkspur or other flower, probinw to 

 the very bottom every single tube, neglecting none, and trying no one twice." — Lep. Brit., p. 6'J. Fortunately, 

 the species is by no means of rare occurrence in nearly every part of the kingdom, so that scarcely any one who 

 delights in the cultivation of flowers has not observed its interesting movements. 



S E S I A. 



This genus affords, in its nomenclature, an instance of the confusion which has resulted from the want of 

 uniformity in the practice of naming the different divisions into which some of the old Linnasan and Fabrician 

 genera have been cut up ; the consequence of which is, that the entomologists of difl'erent countries employ 

 difierent generic names for so many of the same groujis. Sesia, as j)roposed by Fabricius in his earlier works, 

 was a complete magazine ; in which, however, we find the humming-bird moth, and the narrow and broad- 

 bordered bee sphinges, placed towards the beginning of the genus, whilst the slender-bodied currant-tree hawk- 

 moth and allied species, were placed at the end of the genus. In his last work, however, the Systema Glossa- 

 toruni, be separated the latter sj)eeies under the generic name of ^^geria, which name has been adopted in 

 the true Fabrician sense by English entomologists. Ochsenheiraer, however, as well as Latreille, have 

 adopted Scopoli's name, Macroglossa, for the several species first mentioned ; whilst for the latter, they 

 injudiciously retain the Fabrician name Sesia. As, however, it is quite clear that Fabricius never contemplated 

 the slender-bodied clear-winged species as the types of his genus Sesia, (as is unquestionably proved by bis 

 separating them under a distinct name, ^'l-'.geria,) I consider it will be proper to reject the name of Sesia, 

 for the last-named species; although it is, perhaps, equally incorrect to employ it for the narrow and 

 broad-bordered bee sphinges, the real type of the genus, as given in the last work of Fabricius, being the 

 Sphinx Oenothera;, which Boisduval has formed into the genus Fterogon. Indeed, it is rather with the view 

 of conforming to the works of modern English authors, that I retain the present group as distinct, and 

 under its present name ; because, as regarded both by the German and French lepidopterists, the species of 

 which it is composed are too closely allied to BI. stcllatarum, being separated chiefly by the slight character of 

 liaving the wings trausjiarent ; a character which has been shown, by a recent observation of Mr. Doubleday, 

 mentioned below, to l)e of trifling value, and which would render the adoption of other genera necessary amongst 

 the Fabrician jEgeriae. In addition however to this character, we find the body shorter and more robust, and 

 clothe d with long hair ; the antennse longer and much more clavate ; the bead smaller ; the spiral tongue 

 shorter ; the palpi more pilose, with the second joint longer : so that the name Sesia may still be retained, at 

 least, in a subgeneric sense. 



