MANDUCA. 397 



there can be no doubt as to the species for which Manduca 

 was intended, and it may be well to note that Ochsenheimer, 

 in 1816, recognised (Die Schmett, iv., p. 44) that Achero?itia 

 was a synonym of Manduca, both generic names having been created 

 for atropos. Rothschild and Jordan reject the name because it is 

 undescribed, although they do not state that they fail to recognise the 

 species for which the generic term was created. These authors 

 describe (Revision of the Sphingidae, pp. 16-17) the genus (under 

 the name ot Acherontia) as follows — 



S ? . 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 shorter 

 than the forewing is broad at its widest point. Body very stout. Legs 

 short and stout ; anterior tibia short, a little longer than the cell of the 

 hindwing is broad ; spur reaching end of tibia ; lateral spines of anterior 

 tarsus heavy ; middle and hinder 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 gradually more ventro- lateral on the distal 

 segments ; no comb of prolonged spines ; posterior tarsus as long as the cell 

 of the hindwing. Pulvillus absent, paronychium reduced to a short broad lobe. 

 Scaling of body and legs (inclusive of spurs of mid and hind tibia) woolly ; 

 scales of the upper layer of the forewing multidentate, the teeth long and 

 thin, especially on the undersurface, the scales of the hindwing longer, 

 narrower, partly hair-like, the broader ones deeply slit and long- toothed. $ Tenth 

 abdominal tergite long, slender, pointed, the same in the three species of the genus ; 

 harpe with two processes or teeth ; clasper sole-shaped, with a patch of large 

 multidentate friction scales. Penis-sheath, long and thin, without armature. 

 ? Aperture of vagina with an elliptical rim ; eighth tergite shallowly sinuate. 

 Larva: With tuberculated horn, which is horizontal with the end recurved; 

 horn . > -shaped. Pupa : Without free tongue-case — Type atropos. 



The three species*, included in the genus, are diagnosed by 

 Rothschild and Jordan (Revision of the Sphingidae, p. 17,) as 

 follows : 



a. Hindwing above with a large black patch in basal half — A. lachesis. 

 Hindwing above with the basal half yellow . b 



b. Abdomen beneath with black segmental bands A. atropos. 

 Abdomen beneath without black segmental bands, only 



with small black mesial spots A. styx. 



For comparison we add Barter's table (Pal. Gross-Schmett., 

 ii., p. 1 7), which reads as follows: 



I. The black transverse stripes of the abdomen join on the ventral side. 



a. Basal area of hindwings unicolorous yellow, always 



without dark transverse stripes A. atropos, L. 



b. In the basal area of the hindwings stands a thick 



dark spot A. lachesis, F. (satanas, B.). 



II. The black transverse stripes ot the abdomen do not 



join on the ventral side. A. styx, Westd. {medusa, Butl.). 



Few as are the species in the genus they are distributed 

 throughout Africa (atropos), Europe (atropos), western Asia (atropos), 

 south-eastern Asia (styx), and the East Indies (lachesis). 

 Grote notes (Ent. Record, vi., p. 233,) that the genus has 

 erroneously been reported from Mexico, but that it is peculiar to 

 the Old World. 



* Huwe maintains (Berl. Ent. Zeits., xliv., Sitz. p. 54) the distinctness 

 of styx, Westd., and medusa, Btl. On the other hand, Staudinger sinks 

 {Cat., 3rd. ed., p. 98) both styx, Westd., and medusa, Btl., as specifically identical 

 with atropos, Linn. 



