OF OUR LEPIDOPTEROUS INSECTS. 
55 
The clearwings are connected with the hawk-moths proper by the 
before-mentioned genus Macroglossa , two species of which have the 
central portions of their wings denuded of scales. These are the 
two bee clearwings, so called from their resemblance to humble- 
bees, especially as they hover over flowers very much as bees do. 
These two species, when they first emerge from the pupa, have the 
central portion of their wings covered with large scales, so loosely 
attached that they very soon rub off. 
The larvae of the true clearwings are all internal feeders; they 
are soft and maggot-like, without bright colours; most of them 
spend the Winter as larvae, and many take two years to become full 
fed. The pupa remains in the burrow of the larva until the moth 
is ready to emerge. 
Few of our species are common, and they are probably frequently 
overlooked in consequence of their resemblance to bees, wasps, and 
other hymenopterous insects. The commonest is the currant clear- 
wing, which feeds in the shoots of currant bushes and may often 
be seen in gardens. 
In all classes of insects there are some that are local, that is, 
they are only to be found in certain particular localities, and often 
without any apparent reason. Amongst our clearwings there is 
a curious instance of this, Sesia chrysidiformu , the larva of which 
feeds in the rootstock of sorrel and dock. Both plants are common 
everywhere, and yet this moth is only found in this country on the 
slopes of the Warren between Folkestone and Dover. 
The third subgroup of the hawk-moths contains the foresters 
and burnet moths. Most of these are very local, and one only 
is common, the six-spot burnet moth. This brilliant green and 
crimson moth flies in the sunshine on banks, especially near the 
sea, and must be well known to everyone. The flight is slow and 
heavy. 
All the species fly in the hot sunshine, most of them hybernate 
as larvae, and the cocoon is of yellowish tough silk attached to 
a stem of grass or other low-growing plants. 
The next group, the Bombyces, is a difficult one to describe; it 
is such a heterogeneous group. Mr. Barrett says of it: “By no 
means largely represented with us, in consequence of which the 
passage from one family to another is, apparently, even more 
abrupt than where some of the gaps are filled in by the multitude 
of exotic forms. Distinctive and reliable characters can hardly 
be furnished, but the forewings are usually blunt and hardly 
triangular, the bodies are also usually blunt at the end. The 
antennae in certain families reach the utmost development of 
pectination, in others they are simple and threadlike.” 
I must therefore pick out a species here and there which has 
something specially interesting or peculiar about it. 
In this group some of the larvae are internal feeders; that of the 
goat-moth is a well-known instance. The larva is a repulsive- 
looking, ill-smelling creature, which feeds in the solid wood of 
various trees, and takes three years to feed up before turning to 
