52 SPHINGIDiE. 



and antespiracular ridges present. Surface shining, with 

 some pitting on abdomen. Colour' chestnut or brown. 



Habits. — Eggs laid singly on food-plants belonging to a num- 

 ber of families. Larvae sluggish. Pupation in a cell under- 

 ground. Moths heavily built and sluggish except when on 

 the wing ; are attracted by light. 



Cosmopolitan, with three Indian genera. 



Key to the Genera. 



Imagines. 



1. Tongue shorter than thorax, the latter [p. 52.. 



with skull-mark on dorsum Acherontia Lasp., 



Tongue longer than body ; thorax without 

 skull-mark 2. 



2, First segment of palpus externally with 



large apical cavity formed by the scaling ; [& Jord., p. 65^ 



abdomen without pink side-patches Megacorma Roths. 



Scaling of palpus normal ; abdomen with 



pink side-patches Herse Oken, p. 60. 



Larvse. 

 Horn tuberculate, curved first down, then [p. 54. 



up Acherontia Lasp. s 



Horn smooth, curved downwards Herse Oken, p. 63. 



Pupse. 



Tongue-sheath free, recurved Herse Oken, p. 64. 



Tongue not in a free sheath Acherontia Lasp., 



[p. 54, 



Genus ACHERONTIA Laspeyres. (Fig. 9). 



Laspeyres, 1809, p. 99 ; Ochsenheimer, 1816, p. 44 ; Roths. & 

 Jord., 1903, p. 16 ; id., 1907 ; p. 8 ; Jordan, 1911, p. 231. 



Genotype : atropos Linn. 



Imago. — Large and heavily built ; upper side of fore wing 

 blackish, hind wing yellow, and yellow side-patches on the 

 abdomen ; a " skull " or " death's-head " marking on the 

 dorsum of the thorax, from which the species occurring in 

 England, Acherontia atropos, receives its name of " The 

 Death's-head Hawk-Moth." 



" (J$. Tongue short, very thick, hairy, opening before 

 end large, dorsal. Palpi not touching each other, second 

 segment a little shorter than the first ; carina of clypeus 

 and base of tongue visible. Antenna thick, much snorter 

 than the fore wing is broad at its widest point. Body very 

 stout. Legs short and stout ; anterior tibia short, a little 

 longer than the cell of the hind wing is broad ; spur reaching 

 end of tibia ; lateral spines of anterior tarsus heavy ; middle 

 and hind tarsi strongly compressed, spines heavy ; two 

 ventral rows, besides an interno -lateral row of shorter ones, 

 and a number of dorsal and subdorsal spines representing the 

 fourth row ; these latter spines fewer in number and gradu- 



