196 
EREBUS CREPUSCULARIS. 
PLATE XXV. Fig. 1. 
Phal. (Attacus) crepuscular! s, Linn.^ Drury''s Exot. Ins.^ vol. 
pi. 20, figs. 1,2; Cramer^ Pap. Exot, pi. 159, fig. A. 
This genus, which corresponds to that named Thy- 
sania, by Dalraau, was established by Latreille, for 
the reception of a group of exotic moths, which he 
was of opinion should be separated from the Noc- 
tuidae. They bear the wings always extended and 
horizontal, and the last joint of the palpi is long, 
slender, and naked. The genus comprises some of 
the most gigantic moths with which we. are ac- 
quainted ; in particular, the Erebus strix, or great 
owl-moth of Brazil, which measures about a foot 
from tip to tip of the expanded wings. The cater- 
pillar of this superb moth, " the glory of the Noc- 
tuidae," as it is termed by Kirby, is of a black 
colour, with transverse green bands and a lateral 
stripe, bearing pretty long tufts of fine hair, and 
having an anal horn like the larva of a sphinx. (See 
Merian's Surinam Insects, pi. 20.) Not greatly in- 
ferior in size is the £J. odora, which occurs in many 
of the "West Indian islands. The prevailing hues 
among them are very dark, and they are frequently 
