4 PLATE CCCCLXIX. 



This induced later entomologists, and among the reft Fabricius, to 

 believe there muft be two varieties of the Sphinx Convolvuli, namely, 

 the European kind with grey pofterior wings, and the American with 

 red pofterior wings ; for this, though not directly ftated, muft be im- 

 plied, as he refers to the plate of Drury's work, before noticed among 

 his fynonyms of the fpecies Convolvuli *. This latter infe6t was alfo, 

 on fome popular report, confidered as a native of Britain, an idea we 

 fufpect to have originated from its being underftood that an infect of 

 the Sphinx family, correfponding with S. Convolvuli, but having red 

 inftead of grey pofterior wings, had been once taken in England, and 

 was preferved in the Englifh cabinet of Mr. Drury. Such we believe 

 to be the origin of the report, though we cannot abfolutely trace it to 

 this fource. Should this conjecture be well founded, we may add 

 that the infecl:, figured and defcribed by Mr. Drury in his work, muft 

 have been confideredfdifferent from the prefent fpecies by that author: 

 it is very evident he did not admit them to be the fame ; but whe- 

 ther the attention he had beftowed upon them was fufficient to enable 

 him to determine this point with accuracy, we fhall not pretend to 

 decide. Since the difperfion of his collection of exotic fphinges, it is 

 perhaps impoffible to difcover the genuine infect intended by his Con- 

 volvuli var. His figure and description is not altogether fo definitive 

 as we could wifh ; and in the general information fubjoined thereto, he 

 merely fays, " I received it from St. Ghriftopher's. I cannot find it 

 any where defcribed ;" and after this, in the index, he names it ,f Con- 

 volvuli varietas. Linn. p. 798. n. 6." In his manufcript notes, at 

 this time in our poffeffion, there is a further memorandum on the fame 

 fubject, and which, though not material, may be repeated. It occurs 

 in the following words : " Convolvuli var. St. Kitt's. Mr. Kearton, 

 1765." Fid. Muft. Vol. I. pi. 25. fig. 4. In the manufcript note 

 annexed to our prefent infeft, Mr. Drury expreffes a different opinion 

 of the latter ; for this, he obferves, " is not the fame as S. Convolvuli f 



* The reference in Species Infeftorum is to plate 25. fig 1. which Utter is an error; 

 it u intended for figure 4. The fame error has been followed by Gmelin in his Liuu! 

 Sjft. Nat. but this is corrected in the mere recent \s wis of Fabiieiui. ' 



from 



