It is a remarkable point that agricultural laboni-ers, wlio have the very best opportunities of ascertaining the habits of living beings, scarcely ever do so, and Avhen they do are im^ariably afraid of them. The ominous-looking mark on the thorax has always caused the insect to be looked on with dread, not only in this country but on the Continent generally, in the southern parts of which it is very plentiful. The power of producing a sound is another cause of fear, and I have elsewhere narrated an amusing incident, where a whole circle of village people were standing around a Death’s Head Moth that had by some mischance got into the churchyard. Hot one of them dared touch it, and at last it was killed by the village blacksmith, who courageously took a long jump and came down on the unfortunate Moth with his iron-shod boots.

In this wnntry it certainly does no harm, but in Southern Europe it is said to enter bee-hives and the cells. lick the honey from

Owing to the vast quantity of hair with which the body is covered it is of some consequence to secure specimens that are not damaged by being rubbed, as is generally the case ivith lose that arc captured by hand. The best mode of obtainino-

really perfect specimens is to rear them from the caterpillar. Labourers are not much afraid of the caterpillar, though they are of the perfect insect, and the easiest mode of obtaining both the larva and the pupa is to go to a potato-field in whicli the labourers are at work, and offer a small sum for uninjured ‘ locusts ’ and ‘ ground-grubs.’

It will be as well to take a pupa in order to show them the exact object that is wanted. Drawings, however faithful, are, I find, utterly useless, the uneducated eye being absolutely unable to comprehend them. Some time ago, wanting a few living specimens of the Flour Beetle {Tenehrio molitor), described on page 146, 1 made some careful coloured drawings of the insect, took them to different bakers, and asked them to procure some specimens. I do not know whether baking is a business that affects the human intellect or the human eye, but in every case the bakers brought me a paper bag full of cockroaches. And even when the different ' size, colour, and shape of the two insects was pointed out, the bakers in question could not be made to understand but that one insect ‘ would do ’ as well as another.

The caterpillars of the Death’s Head Moth being obtained, and a continual supply of fresh potato-leaves ensvued, they should be kept as much as possible in the dark. When they are full-fed they should be placed on light soft earth, into which they will burrow, and undergo their transformations underground. It is as well to plant in the soil a few sticks up which the Moth can climb when it emerges, and to which it can cling while it dries its wings. Care must be taken to keep the earth moderately moist, placing damp but not wet moss upon it. Unless this precaution be taken, the outer skin of the pupa will become so hard that the insect will not be able to make its way oiit when it is fully developed. I have lost several Moths in this way, and have had one or two in a very maimed and imperfect condition, their wings being quite shrivelled, and scarcely one-sixth their proper size.

Against this evil the Moth-breeder can easily guard, but there is one against which he is powerless, and that is the of the ichneumon-fly, which has been described on presence 322. It is impossible to obviate or ameliorate this page danger, for, even if there were any indications of the paiasite s

presence, it could not be extracted without killing the caterpillar. Supposing, however, that the Moth has successfully made its exit from the pupal shell, and has shaken out its wings to the fullest extent, it can be killed by placing it under a glass, and introducing into the same some bruised young laurel- leaves. I find that the most effectual mode of employing the laurel is to take a dozen small leaves, wrap them in muslin, roll them up tightly, and, with two or three blows of a mallet, crush them. The folded muslin can then be slipped under the glass, and in a very short time the Moth quietly expires, so that an absolutely perfect and bright specimen is obtained.

When the insect is quite dead the abdomen should be carefully severed from the body, and the whole of the contents removed by enlarging the little opening which will then be left at its base. The empty abdomen should then be stuffed with cotton wool, care being taken to make it full large in order to allow for shrinking, and when it is dry it may be joined to the thorax without leaving the least trace of the junction. It will be as well to pour a few drops of benzole into the abdomen and also into the thorax, as this precaution will keep off the mites and other creatures that work destruction among dried insects. All large-bodied Moths should be thus treated, and some of them can scarcely be preserved from the unsightly ‘ grease,’ so hated by entomologists, without this useful substance.

For the purpose of rearing the Moth from the larva, the latter should be obtained about August, as it will then be nearly full-fed, and save a vast amount of trouble in procuring a supply of food. The pupae themselves may be found under the soil somewhere about September.

On Woodcut XLIV. Fig. 3, may be seen a figure of the pretty and rare Spurge Hawk-Moth {Deilephila euphorhia). The colour of the upper wings of this insect is grey,- with two Hrge olive-brown spots and a diagonal band of the same colour. The lower wings are pink, with a large black patch near the base, a black band nearly parallel with the margin, and a white spot at the anal angle.

Specimens of these Moths have been bred from the caterpillar, but I believe that none have been captured with tlie net, so that of the many E E specimens which are found in private

collections nearly all are impostors, liaving been brought from the Continent, and then sold as genuine British specimens. The professional collectors, who make a living by tlie sale of insects, are terribly addicted to this trick, and although several of them are good practical naturalists, and have done service to science by discovering the haunts of sundry rare insects, the generality have no more conscience than dog-dealers or pigeon-

Anthrocera filipenduin). 2. Sesia apiformiF. 3. DeilepUila euphorbia;. a. Deilephila, larva. b. Anthrocera, larva. c. Do., cocoon. fanciers, and will invent a history for any insect so that they get a good price for it.

The larva of this Moth is shown at Fig. a of the same Woodcut, and will serve as a good example of the usual form among Hawk-Moth caterpillars, one of the most conspicuous being the sharply pointed horn at the end of its characteristics body. The use of this horn is exceedingly problematical. That it must serve some purpose is evident, but what that purpose

may be is still a question. There are many parts in many

animals which seem to serve no purpose, and are evidently the

rudiments of some organ which has not been developed. This

horn, however, is clearly not within this category, as it is far too large and conspicuous not to be of real importance. At first sight it looks as if it were a weapon, but in the first place, a caterpillar needs no weapon, and in the second case, the horn is incapable of being used as a weapon. Take any Hawk-Moth caterpillar, and if roughly handled it will twist itself about in its efforts to escape, but it will not even attempt to pierce the hand with its horn. And, even if it did wish to do so, the position of the horn is about the worst that could be selected for the pui-pose. There is no doubt that the formidable-looking horn does deter ignorant people from touching the caterpillar, but I cannot believe that so conspicuous an appendage was given to the larva for so limited a purpose.

All the caterpillars of the Hawk-Moths are prettily coloured, while in some of them the hues may almost be termed brilliant. In the present species the general colour is black, relieved by a vast number of tiny white dots. The head is red, and a red streak runs along the back from the head to the horn, the basal part of which is red, the tip being black. The large spots which aie seen on the larva are whitish-grey, and beneath them are smaller spots of the same red as that of the head.

Owing to our limited space, we can but casually glance at some other British Hawk-Moths. There is, for example, the Eyed Hawk-Moth {Smerinthus ooellatus), so conspicuous by the large eyelike spots in the middle of the lower wings, and the beautiful pink-brown of the upper wings. The larva of this Moth has a very rough skin, is pale-green in colour, speckled with white, and has seven diagonal stripes on each side of the body. The horn is blue.

Hien there is the less conspicuous, but really beautiful loPLAR Hawk-Moth {SmeHnthus populi), so common in the 8ummei^ clinging to the bark of trees, to rough posts, and other objects which somewliat resemble it in general colour. It may be known by the mottled brown of the upper wings* with a white spot in the middle, and the warm chestnut at the’ tose of the lower wings. The caterpillar is rough, like that of

tbe last-mentioned species, and is green sprinkled with yellow, and has seven diagonal yellow stripes on each side. Tliehorn is yellow above and orange beneath. This caterpillar is plentiful, and can be beaten out of the boughs of the Lombardy poplar.

This, by the way, is a simple and very effective plan of securing larvae, not to mention perfect insects. Nothing more is wanted than an umbrella and a long stick. The umbrella is opened, reversed, and held under the boughs. A smart tap with the stick is sure to dislodge the caterpillars, and send them tumbling into the umbrella, whence they can be transferred to the collecting-box. If bough-beating is to be carried out on a large scale, it is as well to have a sheet held under the branches, and then to ascend the tree, and tap every bough that can be reached. In fact, the poplar can scarcely be treated in any other manner. The umbrella, however, is sufficient for ordinary purposes.

As to the collecting-box which has just been mentioned, I had one which I found extremely useful. It was oval, bjldly domed above, and from the middle of the lid projected a tube an inch in height, and three-quarters of an inch in diameter. This was closed with a cork, and through it the caterpillars were introduced into the box. Unless some such plan be adopted, the collector is horribly worried by the caterpillars. There is no difficulty about the first two or three, but when a dozen or more large caterpillars are in the box, it is no easy matter to put in one without three or four pushing their way out, so as to run the risk of being squeezed to death when the lid is closed. By employing the tube and cork, however, no ; such risk is run, and the box can be quite filled with caterpillars without one even attempting to escape. Some collectors (•] suspend the box over their shoulders, but I always kept it in a ' pocket, merely fastening it by a string to a buttonhole of the j coat, so as to guard against its loss by falling out of the pocket. A few small holes should be bored in the lid for the admission of air. As far as regards size, they should not be larger than pin-holes, and, as far as regards number, six or eight are quite enough.

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