64 MOTHS 



PLATE XXXIV 

 THE SWALLOW-TAILED MOTH (i and 2) 



You may often see this handsome moth flying 

 about in the garden on warm evenings in July; 

 and during the daytime you may sometimes shake 

 it out of ivy, or out of the leaves of a thick 

 bush, in which it has taken refuge from the un- 

 welcome daylight. It is easy to see why it is 

 called the " Swallow-tailed " Moth, for on the hind- 

 wings are two little " tails," very much like those 

 of the " swallow-tailed butterfly." 



The caterpillar of this moth is one of those 

 which we call " loopers," because instead of walk- 

 ing as other caterpillars do, they hunch them- 

 selves up into a sort of loop at every step. And 

 sometimes they are called "stick-caterpillars," 

 because their bodies are so like bits of twig 

 that as long as they do not move it is very diffi- 

 cult indeed to see them. 



If you shake the branches of a tree in summer- 

 time you will generally see several of these 

 caterpillars swinging in the air, each at the end 

 of a silken thread ; and if you want to find that 

 of the Swallow-tailed Moth you should look for 

 it on willow, and lime, and elder, and pear trees. 

 When it is fully grown it spins a cocoon just 

 like a little hammock, and turns to a light brown 

 chrysalis spotted with black. 



