HEMARIS FUCIFORMIS. 519 



about 2ins. in length when full-grown ; bright green in colour, 

 speckled with pale yellow tubercular spots, getting lighter on the 

 back ; a darker green dorsal line, a pale yellow longitudinal line 

 on either side which terminates at the horn ; the latter brownish- 

 purple and minutely granulated ; head round, green, and minutely 

 speckled with whitish-green ; the mandibles light brown ; the 

 abdomen chocolate-coloured, or brownish-purple, or violet ; the 

 stigmata scarlet ; the thoracic legs pink, tinged with plum-colour ; 

 the prolegs brownish-violet, tipped with greyish fawn-colour ; 

 there is a narrow yellow line just behind the head ; the edges of 

 the anus are bordered by a yellow line. When the larva is about 

 to undergo its change to the pupal stage, it turns to a dark 

 brownish-purple colour (Chaumette, Zoo/., ix., p. 3100). 



Variation of larva. — Hellins mentions a larva in which the 

 spiracles were surrounded by reddish-brown pear-shaped spots. 

 Buckler figures (Larvae, etc., pi. xxvi., figs. 3, 3a, 3b) three different 

 forms of the larva. (1) Brown, with a very dark mediodorsal line. 

 (2) Green, with a broad yellow spiracular lateral band extending from 

 the subdorsal line to the subspiracular line. (3) With a deep 

 claret-red subspiracular line, dividing the spiracular area from the 

 ventral area. The green larvae " become dark-brown just before 

 changing to pupae " (Buckler). 



Comparison of larva of Hemaris fuciformis with other 

 Sphingid larvae. — The head of the larva of H. fuciformis appears 

 to be tall and approaching the oval Sphingid outline; the scutellum 

 is rough and prominent, a character that is somewhat marked in 

 the larva of H. tityus ; the oblique stripes (or slashes) very faint. 

 It may be noted that the larva of H. fuciformis shows the graceful 

 tapering outline of the larva of Mimas ti/iae from the 4th or 5th 

 abdominal segment to the head, and not the abrupt outline from 

 the 1 st or 2nd abdominal segments to the head as exhibited in the 

 larva of Sesia ste/Zatarum. Possibly the ground-feeding habit of the 

 latter and the bush-feeding habit of H. fuciformis are responsible 

 for much of the difference ; it may also be partly due to the fact 

 that the larvae of H. fuciformis examined are not adult. The 

 caudal horn of the larva of H. fuciformis is distinctly longer and 

 more prominent than that of H. tityus* (Bacot). 



Cocoon. — The larva forms a very open cocoon on the surface 

 of the ground, of dirty whitish and pinkish silk, stuck over with 

 bits of earth, &c. (Hellins) ; the dusky purple pupa is enclosed in 

 a slight cocoon amongst moss or roots of grass (Crewe); a larva 

 put in a box without material, spun a slight web, in which it 

 remained 4 weeks before pupating (Bingham-Newland) ; the cocoon 

 is made on the surface of the ground, much silk and little earth 

 being used in its construction (Freeman; ; pupates between leaves 

 which are merely drawn together by a few threads, or under moss 

 (Bartel); spins a loose open network cocoon among moss, grass- 

 roots, &c. (Barrett). 



Pupa. — The pupa is Sphingid (sens, rest.) in the orientation 

 of the face-parts, but differs from all other Sphingids, in having a 

 long tapering abdomen, in presenting no portion of the first 



* The larvae of H. fuciformis and H. tityus on which this comparison was 

 made had been preserved by inflation (Bacot). 



