128 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



p. 44). Much subject to the attacks of ichneumons in Teneriffe 

 (White). 



Habits. — This species abounds in most tropical and subtropical 

 regions of the Old World, whence it spreads, in some years 

 abundantly in others sparingly, into the temperate regions north 

 and south. Manger has an example that was taken by Capt. Walker 

 in the Red Sea. In Europe, it occurs sporadically as an immigrant, 

 more often in the south, especially along the Mediterranean littoral, more 

 rarely extending into central and northern Europe. It is recorded as 

 having been unusually abundant in 1834, in southern France, arriving 

 in numbers after violent south winds (Daube, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., vi., p. 

 363), in August, 1846, throughout central and southern Europe, Sep- 

 tember and October, 1851, in southern France, 1854, 1859 an ^ 1863 in 

 France, 1865 and i£68 throughout western Europe, 1876-9 also found 

 in France, in 1884 in Spain, and in 1885 most abundant on the Med- 

 iterranean littoral, in Spain and western Europe to the Netherlands. 

 In August, 1846, the insect was unusually abundant throughout 

 France and, later in the year, larvae and pupae were obtained, the 

 latter usually dying and scarcely any imagines were bred. Boisduval 

 considered this to be due to their foreign origin and inability to 

 meet the conditions of their new environment. In 1851 it was 

 equally abundant in southern France, but Newman observes that the 

 dissection of the abdomina of many $ examples, in September and 

 October, showed them to be empty. Seebold says (An. Soc. Esp. Nat. 

 Hist., xxvii., p. 119) that, in 1884 and 1885, the species was very 

 abundant in Spain, the larvae in August and the imagines in Septem- 

 ber, but that since then he had not observed it again. In 1885 it was 

 also very abundant (so too was Daphnis nerii) along the Mediter- 

 ranean littoral, especially in the Riviera and Sicily. In Queensland, 

 Dodd records (Ent., xxxv., p. 44) the emergence of the moths 

 continuously in the autumn and winter months — April, May, June, and 

 July — of 1 90 1, at Towns ville, oviposition going on all the time, the 

 larvae feeding up, and the imagines emerging after a pupal period of 

 three weeks, whilst Ash notes the insect as abundant at flowers in the 

 gardens at Southport in the spring months — September-October, so 

 that no doubt the species is continuously-brooded here. Dodd observes 

 that the winter-emerging examples appear to be somewhat sluggish, 

 although the shade temperature is seldom as low as 70 F. at 

 midday. Fully half the moths emerge between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., 

 the others appearing during the evening. Newnham observes that 

 he has seen the imagines flying at dusk literally in hundreds, over 

 the flowers of jessamine in Western India ; they only appear to come 

 for about half-an-hour each evening, and occur about mid-June and 

 again in September, possibly also in April, as most of the Sphingids are 

 treble-brooded in India, and, contrary to what most books state, he has 

 never captured this species at light, even when Manducd atropos and 

 other species were coming in numbers to the argand lamps (in litt.). 

 Walker observes that, at Gibraltar, the moth is not uncommon in 

 September and October at the flowers of Plumbago capensis, and it 

 is also occasionally found at rest on walls, &c, whilst at Tangier 

 Meade-Waldo also observed them commonly in August, 1901, at 

 the Plumbago bushes, the moths being very regular in their appearance, 

 coming from 6.15 p.m. to 6.45 p.m., whilst a friend observed them 



