THE jEGERIANS. 
' 329 
like humming-birds, Fig. 150. 
during the daytime, 
in the months of July 
and August. Then- 
caterpillars bear a 
o-eneral resemblance 
© 
to those of the genus 
Sphinx, and, as far 
as they are known, 
seem to possess the 
same habits. 
The Algerians (AIgeiiiatxf.) constitute a very distinct 
group among Sphinges. They are easily recognized, in the 
perfected or winged state, by their resemblance to bees, 
hornets, or wasps, by their narrow wings, which are mostly 
transparent, and by the tufts or brush at the end of the 
body, which they have the power of spreading out like a fan 
at pleasure. They fly only in the daytime, and frequently 
alight to bask in the sunshine. Their habits, in the cater- 
pillar state, are entirely different from those of the other 
Sphinges ; the latter living exposed upon plants whose 
leaves they devour, while the caterpillars of the Algerians 
are concealed within the stems or roots of plants, and 
derive their nourishment from the wood and pith. Hence 
they are commonly called borers, a name, however, which 
is equally applicable to the larvae or young of many insects 
of other orders. 
The caterpillars of the Algerians are whitish, soft, and 
slightly downy. Like those of other Sphinges they have 
sixteen feet, but they are destitute of a thorn or prominence 
on the last segment of the body. When they have come 
to their full size, they enclose themselves in 
oblong oval cocoons (Fig. 157), made of 
fragments of wood or bark cemented by a 
gummy matter, and within these are trans- 
formed to chrysalids. The latter are of a shining bay color, 
42 
Fig. lot. 
