THE MOTH. 
155 
The antennee of the sphinxes are the thickest 
in the middle, and taper off to a point at each 
end; but they hold their wings inclined, like the 
rest of the moths ; and have the hook and bristle 
to keep them, steady. 
They make a humming noise as they hover 
over a flower; and their habit of feeding on the 
wing, and their rapid manner of darting about? 
makes them so much like humming-birds, that 
some of them are called humming-bird hawk- 
moths. 
One of these humming-bird moths, is not 
uncommon in England, and flies morning and 
evening, hiding itself in the noon-time, amongst 
the foliage. ' It frisks about all the summer, 
darting from flower to flower, or poising itself 
over them, while it sucks up their juices with its 
long spiral trunk. The jessamine and carnation 
are its favorite flowers, and as it hovers over 
them, with quivering wings, its large and hawk¬ 
like eyes survey everything around it. At the 
least movement, it is alarmed, and darts away 
with the speed of an arrow. 
This keen sight and rapid movement, are its 
greatest safeguards. It is scarcely possible to 
catch it; and when at rest, it takes care to 
settle on some dusky body, so nearly its own 
