210 A RARE MOTH 



in a Wiltshire garden I enjoyed a pretty sight — 

 a Brimstone butterfly hovering long and lovingly over 

 a plant of sulphur-coloured antirrhinum, the colour of 

 the flowers exactly matching that of the insect's wings. 



XXXVIII 



On 7th September 1917 there was brought to me 

 A Rare ^ ^^^ specimen of one of the largest, rarest, 

 Motn a,nd most beautiful of British moths — the con- 

 volvulus hawk-moth {Sphinx convolvuli), a noble insect 

 measuring nearly two inches and a half from between 

 its enormous black eyes to the tip of its coquettish grey 

 tail, and four inches from tip to tip of its expanded 

 wings. It was the first time I had seen or heard of 

 the occurrence of this fine insect in Scotland ; but, as 

 it turned out, that season will be long remembered 

 by entomologists for the appearance of convolvulus 

 hawks in considerable numbers in many parts of 

 England and Scotland, as far north as Inverness-shire. 

 One of our housemaids was greatly perturbed on find- 

 ing one in the porch, for the moth's great size and its 

 prominent eyes give it a somewhat sinister appearance 

 to the uninitiated. 



Like most large moths, the convolvulus hawk keeps 

 its wings closed when at rest, and its long antennae, 

 resembling slender slips of rubber, are laid back close 

 along the furry thorax. In this posture the creature 

 enjoys the advantage of perfect protective colouring, 

 the upper portion of the thorax and the fore-wings 

 being marbled with ashen-grey, light brown and black, 



