THE DEATH'S HEAD HAWK 39 



PLATE XXI 



THE DEATH'S HEAD HAWK (i and 2) 



This is the largest of all the British hawk 

 moths, for its outspread wings often measure as 

 much as five inches from tip to tip. You cannot 

 possibly mistake it for any other insect, for on 

 its back it has a patch of short yellow hair which 

 looks just like a skull. That is why it is called 

 the "Death's Head." If you want to find the 

 caterpillar you should look for it in potato fields 

 in the month of August. It is a great yellow 

 creature, four or even five inches in length, with 

 seven blue stripes on each side, and a yellow 

 horn on its tail. And if you meet with it, and 

 pick it up, you will be surprised to find that it 

 can squeak quite loudly ! Stranger still, the chry- 

 salis can squeak too, and so can the moth ! In- 

 deed, if you pick up a Death's Head Hawk Moth 

 it will go on squeaking very much like a mouse 

 all the time that you hold it in your hand ! 



The caterpillar of this grand moth feeds chiefly 

 on potato leaves, but is sometimes found on 

 jessamine and buckthorn. When it is fully fed 

 it buries itself eight or ten inches deep in the 

 ground, and turns into a huge reddish-brown 

 chrysalis, from which the moth generally hatches 

 out in October. 



