48 SPHINGID^]. 



molested, and some species make a clicking or hissing noise ;. 

 pupation in a cell underground. The moths vary greatly 

 in habits ; when resting they hold "the wings sloping down- 

 wards, steeply in some species, and completely covering the 

 abdomen or leaving the dorsal stripe only visible ; seldom 

 seen on the wing, but a few species may be seen feeding 

 at flowers, and others are attracted by light. 



Cosmopolitan, with two subfamilies, Acherontiin^: and 

 Ambtjlicinje. 



Subfamily ACHERONTIIN.E. 



Butler, 1887 A, p. 517 ; Roths. & Jord., 1903, p. 4 ; id., 1907, 

 p. 5; Jordan, 1911, p. 231. 



Imago. — " Owing to the frequent reduction or obliteration 

 of a number of organs in this subfamily and the Ambulicinje 

 there is no single distinguishing character applying to all 

 species. The two subfamilies can, however, be separated 

 by taking several characters together, as explained under 

 Ambulicinje (see this subfamily) " (Roths. & Jord. 1903, p. 4). 

 Terminal segment of antenna long and thin except in the tribe 

 Sphingulini (Dolbinopsis ; Dolbina) and in Pentateucha of 

 the tribe Sphingini (it is short in all Ambulicinje except 

 Compsogene, Oxyambulyx and Cypa, but these genera have 

 the fore wing with apex sinuate, a character never present 

 in any Acherontiine moth). Pentateucha has three claws 

 at end of fore tarsus, and head and thorax clothed with 

 long hairs ; Dolbinopsis has a single claw and Dolbina 

 no claw. In all species the wings are sombre in hue, the 

 markings mostly transverse ; fore wing never falcate or trun- 

 cate, and the outer margin never concave or scalloped, though 

 it may be feebly undulate between the ends of the veins ; 

 a " skull-mark " sometimes present on dorsum of thorax, and 

 there may be abdominal side-bands or patches. Frenulum 

 and retinaculum wanting in a few species. 



Egg. — Usually green, shortly ovoid or nearly spherical in 

 shape except when first laid and when near hatching ; that 

 of Herse convolvuli very small, only 1 mm. in length, while 

 those of the other species are double that length. 



Larva. — Head round except in Dolbina, where it is shortly 

 triangular. Body nearly cylindrical or tapering slightly 

 forwards, the segments and secondary rings well defined ; 

 Meganoton nyctiphanes has a fleshy conical hump on the 

 dorsum of segment 3, which is wanting in the other two 

 species of the genus. Horn always straight in the earlier in- 

 star s, but in the last instar straight, down- curved or curved first 

 down and then up as in Acherontia. Surface usually smooth 

 in the last instar, though rounded tubercles may be present, 

 and one species has fleshy spines. Pale- coloured oblique stripes 

 always present on segments 5 to 11 ; ocelli never present. 



