SPHINX OONVOLVULI. 23 



slow degrees, with perhaps a turn to the right or left 

 in order to get at the leaves in their order on the stem ; 

 so that three or four inches would represent adequately 

 the extent of its day's progress. Another proof of its 

 very lethargic demeanour at this stage of its growth 

 is given by the fact, that each morning I almost in- 

 variably found it on the same part of the food-plant, 

 and in a similar posture as when placed in its cage the 

 previous evening ; nor did it seem to be a nocturnal 

 feeder, of which I had fair presumptive evidence by 

 finding usually in the morning only one pellet of 

 " frass." Throughout the day it fed frequently, taking 

 rest in the intervals, and its meals were deliberate, 

 never made ravenously or hurriedly, nor did it consume 

 much at a time ; the number of pellets ejected during 

 the day was about five, and they were proportionally 

 large. 



With the view of testing if it had any inclination to 

 hide or burrow, I placed the larva once during the 

 daytime, and once also at night, on some fine mould, 

 but it seemed unwilling to stay on the earth, and soon 

 crawled up through the Convolvulus, which had been 

 placed over it, and took up its position as usual on the 

 stem of the plant. 



Such were the habits of this individual on its 

 approach to maturity, and they perfectly coincide with 

 the account given by Mr. J. Boswell Syme, of those 

 which he once reared (see ' Entomologist's Monthly 

 Magazine,' vol. VII, p. 139). The opinion therefore ex- 

 pressed at pp. 161-2 of vol. Y of that work, that this 

 species may hide itself by day under the soil is proved to 

 be erroneous, and my friend Mr. Hellins is very glad to 

 be so clearly set right, on this point. Why, however, 

 the moth should in some seasons swarm in this country 

 to such a prodigious extent as it does, and yet the large- 

 sized open feeding larva be so seldom found, seems 

 strange. Boisduval says, in France the larva " is 

 sufficiently common," feeding especially on Convolvulus 

 arvensis in fields of potatoes and kidney-beans, some- 



