
AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS. 95 
regular succession of the insect during the summer, partially influenced by the state of the weather. “This 
interesting species in the winged state frequents gardens, flying in sunny weather between the hours of ten and 
twelve in the morning, and those of two and four in the afternoon. Its food is the nectareous juice of tube- 
bearing flowers. This it extracts with amazing address by the assistance of its exserted spiral tongue, inimitably 
poising itself all the while on rapidly vibrating wings ; whence its name of Humming-bird. It is delightful, 
indeed, to the entomological eye of an Aurelian, to behold and contemplate the dexterity exhibited by this 
charming insect whilst it sails, all gaiety and grace, round the tall sprig of a larkspur or other flower, probing to 
the very bottom every single tube, neglecting none, and trying no one twice.”—Lep. Brit., p. 67. Fortunately, 
the species is by no means of rare occurrence in nearly every part of the kingdom, so that scarcely any one who 
delights in the cultivation of flowers has not observed its interesting movements. 

SESTIA.:. 
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This genus affords, in its nomenclature, an instance of the confusion which has resulted from the want of 
uniformity in the practice of naming the different divisions into which some of the old Linnean and Fabrician 
genera have been cut up; the consequence of which is, that the entomologists of different countries employ 
different generic names for so many of the same groups. Sesia, as proposed by Fabricius in his earlier works, 
was a complete magazine; in which, however, we find the humming-bird moth, and the narrow and broad- 
bordered bee sphinges, placed towards the beginning of the genus, whilst the slender-bodied currant-tree hawk- 
moth and allied species, were placed at the end of the genus. In his last work, however, the Systema Glossa- 
torum, he separated the latter species under the generic name of 7Egeria, which name has been adopted in 
the true Fabrician sense by English entomologists. Ochsenheimer, however, as well as Latreille, have 
adopted Scopoli’s name, Macroglossa, for the several species first mentioned; whilst for the latter, they 
injudiciously retain the Fabrician name Sesia. As, however, it is quite clear that Fabricius never contemplated 
the slender-bodied clear-winged species as the types of his genus Sesia, (as is unquestionably proved by his 
separating them under a distinct name, Aigeria,) I consider it will be proper to reject the name of Sesia, 
for the last-named species; although it is, perhaps, equally incorrect to employ it for the narrow and 
broad-bordered bee sphinges, the real type of the genus, as given in the last work of Fabricius, being the 
Sphinx GEnotherze, which Boisduval has formed into the genus Pterogon. Indeed, it is rather with the view 
of conforming to the works of modern English authors, that I retain the present group as distinct, and 
under its present name; because, as regarded both by the German and French lepidopterists, the species of 
which it is composed are too closely allied to M. stellatarum, being separated chiefly by the slight character of 
having the wings transparent ; a character which has been shown, by a recent observation of Mr. Doubleday, 
mentioned below, to be of trifling value, and which would render the adoption of other genera necessary amongst 
the Fabrician A.geriew. In addition however to this character, we find the body shorter and more robust, and 
clothed with long hair; the antennz longer and much more clavate; the head smaller; the spiral tongue 
shorter ; the palpi more pilose, with the second joint longer: so that the name Sesia may still be retained, at 
least, in a subgeneric sense. 
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