42 MOTHS 



PLATE XXIII 

 THE SMALL ELEPHANT HAWK (3) 



This is a much smaller insect than the last, 

 for its wings only measure about an inch and 

 three-quarters from tip to tip when they are fully 

 spread out. But it is one of the prettiest of all 

 our British moths, with a rose-coloured body, 

 and greenish - yellow wings marked with rose- 

 coloured bands and spots. It is not at all 

 uncommon, and if you want to see it you can 

 very easily do so. All that you have to do is to 

 stand at dusk on a warm evening in June in 

 front of a honeysuckle bush, and then to remain 

 perfectly still. After a few minutes you are 

 almost sure to see a shadowy form hovering in 

 front of one of the blossoms. This is a Small 

 Elephant Hawk ; and if you catch it, and wait 

 for a little while, another one is almost sure to 

 make its appearance in a very few minutes. 



The caterpillar of this moth is something like 

 that of the " large elephant hawk," but has three 

 eye-like spots on each side of its body, and no 

 horn upon its tail. It feeds upon bedstraw, and 

 is generally found in places where the soil is 

 chalky. 



