LEPIDOPTERA. ^^^'^ 



The third division of Sphinx, Sesiades, comprises those ^vith the antennse always simple, elon^cale- 

 fusif(trm, and often terminated by a small ijiindle of scales ; the palpi are slender, and distinctly 3-jouitcd; 

 elie a1)domen is generally tcrminateil Ity a tassel. The caterpillars devour the interior of twigs, or the 

 roots of vegetables, like those of Zcuzera or Cossus ; they are naked, without any posterior liorn, and 

 construct a cocoon with the particles of the materials on which they have fed. 



Sksia, Latr.,— 



Has the antennae terminated by a ?maU brush of scali-s ; the wing's are horizontal, and have i^lassy spaces ; the 

 tail is tasselled. Many of the species resemble Wasps and other hymenopteroiLs and diptLTOus insects, [Mu- 

 meroLis sinaU ilriti.sh species, which fly about in the hottest sunshine.] 



Tliiiris-, HoR'., diflers in the untennte beint^ nearly setaceous, and the abdomen pointed. 



^goccra, Latr., has the antennfe without a bundle of scales at the tip, but thickest in the middle ; the abdomen 

 also pointed at the tip. The wiiii^-s are entirely clothed with scales. 



Tiic fourth and last division of Sphinxes, Zyg.-enides, has the antennae always terminated in a point 



\\ithout a l)rush, and eitlier simple in both sexes and fii:;iform, or thickest in t]ie middle ; setaceous 



and pectinated, at least in the males ; the palpi of moderate size, or small, subcylindrie, 3-jointed ; the 



wings are dcflexed, and have, in many, vitreous spols ; the abdomen is not tasscllLMl ; the spurs of the 



liind-tibiae are small ; the larvae are exposed, and feed on various leguminosEe. They are cylindric, 



without a posterior horn, pilose, like those of many Bombyces, and form a silken cocoon, which they 



attach to stems of grass, &c. Their habits are well described by Boisduval, in a monograph on this 



tribe. 



Zyg^na,— 



The typical ,s;cnus, is net found in the New AVorld ; the antenna' are simijle in both sexes ; suddenly terminated 

 l.)y a fusiform mass, and the palpi reach beyond the clyjiens, and are attenuated at the tip. [The species are 

 numei'ous. 



iSph'nix jUipi'irduht.% [the Hornet Moth, a very common and handsome species, i^ the type]. 



tSt/iitoniis, Illip;., diH'ers in having the anteiUKu slemler and gradually dilated ; the palj)! are shoi-ter. [Exotic 

 species.] 



A'f/cfiiay HofT., has simple antennae in the females, or bipectinated in the males ; the palpi very pilose, and ex- 

 tending; considerably beyond the clypeus ; the spurs lar^^'e. 



I'rocris, Fab. {Iiw, Leach), approaches Atychia in the antpunn:, but the palpi are shorter, the \ving:s loup:er, utA 

 the spurs small. S. sfntices, Linn., [the Forester S|)hinx, a very common small species, of a shining green colour]. 



The other Lepidoptera of this division have the antenn^-e in both sexes bipectinated. 



Glmicopifi, Fab., has a distinct proboscis. 



Afflaope, Fabr., has not a proboscis. Many species of these two subgenera occur in tropical chmates ; they seeni 

 to connect the Crepuscularla; with Calliniorpha. 



THE THIRD [AND LAST] FAMILY OV THE LEPIDOPTERA,— 



TirE NocTunxA, — 



Presents to us ordinarily the wings bridled in repose by a bristle or bunch of hairs arising at the base 

 of the outer edge of the lower pair, and passing tlirough a ring on the under side of the upper. The 

 wings are horizontal or dcflexed, and sometimes rolled round the body. The antennES gradually di- 

 minish to the tips, or are setaceous. This family is composed in the Linnasan system of the single 



genus 



Phal.^na [or Moths]. 



These insects in general fly only during the night, or after sunset ; many are destitute of a proboscis; 

 some females are destitute of wings, or have only very small ones. The caterpillars generally spin a 

 cocoon; the number of their feet varies from ten to sixteen; the chrysalides are always rouudcil, and 

 not angulatcd nor pointed. 



The classification of this family is exceedingly embarrassing, and our systems are yet but imperfect 

 sketches. AVe divide it into ten sections. 



The first section, Hepialites, has for its types the genera Hppialus and Cossu.s of Fabricius. The 

 caterpillars are naked and fleshy, and reside in the interior of vegetal>les, upon which they feed ; their 

 cocoons are for the most part formed of the particles of these vegetables. The segments of the abdomen 

 of the pupte are denticulated ; the antennae are always short, with only a single sort of small short teeth. 

 In others they are terminated by a single filament, but furnished at the base in the males with a double 



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