On lime and elm trees may be found the larva of the Limk Hawic-Motii (Smennthus tiliai). This is easily known by the

very deep scalloping of the fore-wings and the prevalence of olive-green in its colouring. There is some variation in the ui'rangement of the markings, hut the present species is the only one in which the deep olive-green is the leading colour, without any admixture of chestnut or pink. The attitude of the Moth at rest is a very curious one, the under wings being completely concealed beneath the upper pair, the scalloped edges of which, and their mottled surface, have the most astonishing resemblance to a pair of withered leaves.

The larva is pale green, and covered with very small tubercles, each being topped with yellow. Along the sides are seven diagonal stripes of yellow, which are mostly edged with pink. The hoi'n is blue above and yellow beneath. In most parts of England this is a very plentiful insect, and can be either bred or captured without the least difficulty. In my collection, by far the greater number were bred from tbe caterpillar, and most of them from the full-fed larva, which was captured as it was descending the trunks of trees in search of loose soil in which to bury itself. I have bred considerable numbers of this insect, and have found no difficulty in rearing them — less difficulty, in fact, than I have experienced with any Hawk-Moth, except, pel haps, the Privet Moth, respecting which a few words must presently be said.

PASsiNa by the Convolvulus Hawk-Moth {Sptiinx convolvuh), we may pause for a while upon the well-known Privet Moth {Sphinx ligustH), so called in honour of the plant on which the larva feeds.

This fine Moth is really one of the commonest of British insects, although seldom seen on account of its nocturnal habits and the limited amount of the plant on which it mostly feeds The Moth itself is a very handsome one, with a wide expanse of wings, very prettily coloured. The upper wings are very warm lirown, mottled and clouded with dark brown ; and the lower wings are pink, crossed by three nearly horizontal black bands, i he body is pink, banded and striped with black. The caterpillar IS a peculiarly handsome one. It is smooth and green, and has on each side seven diagonal stripes, the upper part of each strine being violet, merging rapidly into white towards the under side

hese caterpillars feed on the common privet, and may

almost always be fouod in profusion where that plant is present. The best plan for ascertaining the presence or absence of this larva, is to examine the ground beneath the plant. If there be some tiny, oblong bundles of masticated leaves, there is no doubt about the matter, and all that is required is a fair amount of perseverance.

In consequence of the large size of this larva, it has always been rather a pet among entomologists, especially after Newport’s splendid dissections. The horn is rather in the way when the caterpillar is laid on its back for dissection, but the various organs are well defined, and give little trouble to the dissector who undertakes the task of tracing the development of each organ, from the larval to the perfect state.

Another of the Hawk-Moths which deserves a passing notice is the Elephant Hawk-Moth (^Chcerocampa ELpenor). This species is smaller than those which have been described, and is a very pretty insect. The upper wings are brown-green, shaded diagonally with pink, and the lower wings are pink, with black bases. The thorax and body are coloured like the upper wings, their ground hue is brown with a green gloss, and there •( : are four longitudinal pink stripes upon the thorax, while the sides of the abdomen are pink, and a stripe of the same colour runs down the centre.

The name of Elephant Moth which is given to it is due, not to the perfect insect, but to the larva, which possesses the power of elongating or contracting the three first segments of the body in a manner which is fancifully thought to resemble the proboscis of the elephant. The generic title of Gho’rocavvpa, or swine-caterpillar, is given to this and other Moths on account of this structure of the larva. On either side of the This larva feeds chiefly on the common willow-herb, and may i j fourth and fifth segment is a large, black, eye-like mark, which many persons really think to be the eyes of the caterpilLii. i be found in August. The perfect insect makes its appearance in J une.

W^E now come to a very common and interesting insect, well known by the popular and appropriate name of Humming-birr stellatarum), a figure of which is given on INIoth (Macroglossa Plate XIV. Fig. 3.

Plate Xiv. Hawk Moths.

jicheroutia atropos. 2. Acherontia larva. 3. Macroglossa stellatarum. 4. Macroglossa fuciforinis.

Plant : — Potato.

I \

The colours of this insect are anything but brilliant or conspicuous, and yet it is a very pretty Moth. The upper wings are brown, with a few slight black mottlings, and the lower wings are warm chrome yellow, with a narrow edging of black, beneath, it is coloured much like the lower wings, but the hue is duller. The thorax and abdomen are of the same colour as the upper wings, but the latter has some black and white spots along the sides, which are covered with tufts of black and white hair, which are spread during flight. There is a tuft of black hair at the end of the abdomen.

The caterpillar feeds chiefly on the Bedstraw {Oalium), and, but for the characteristic horn at the end of the body, would scarcely be taken for the larva of a Hawk-Moth. Its colour is greenish brown, sometimes taking a pink tinge, and there are two lines along the sides, one pink and white, which reaches to the base of the horn, and the other dull brown, beneath the lighter line.

In some places, the Humming-bird Hawk-Moth is exceedingly plentiful, while in others it is quite rare. In Kent, it absolutely sw^arms in some seasons, but in others only a few are seen. This variability probably depends much on the weather. Last year (1870), when we had a continuance of hot weather in the summer, the Humming-bird Moth appeai’ed in multitudes ; whereas, in the corresponding part of the present year (1871) the Moths have been comparatively few and farbetween.

Sombre as is the colouring of this insect, I really do not know any Moth which is more interesting to the spectator. Fortunately, it flies by day, and, like the lovely bird whose flight it imitates, revels in the hottest sunshine. If, on a hot summer day, the observer will take his stand by a jessamine or other honey-bearing flower, and will quietly wait there, he will assuredly see a Humming-bird Moth before long, should the locality be one which is frequented by this insect. Sirddenly as he is watching a flower, his eyes see a kind of shadow form flrtting in front of the flowers, and his ears are greeted bv the hum which accompanies the flight of the Moth. Let him but lift a hand, and the creature is gone— how, or where it is impossible to say, so amazingly swift is the darting flio-ht

Still, though it be gone, it will come back again if no move-

ment be made, and, in the same mysterious manner, the Moth is again hovering in front of the flowers. Presently, it selects one of them, and, poising itself within an inch or so of the blossom, its body becomes visible, while its rapidly vibrating wings look like two grey patches of mist on the sides of the motionless body. Presently, a wonderfully long and slender tongue is thrust from the head, plunged deeply into the recesses of the flower, and, thus suspended in mid-air, the insect takes its sweet repast. It is a very remarkable fact that the Humming-birds themselves feed in precisely the same manner.

Indeed, the whole bearing of this insect, including the sound made by its wings, so closely resembles that of the bird, that many persons who have lived in those parts of the world which are favoured by the presence of the Humming-birds, have been so completely deceived by the Moth that they have written letters to newspapers and scientific journals, asserting that humming-birds have at last made their way even to England. There is no better proof of the wonderful resemblance between the bird and the moth than that persons who have been long familiar with the former should mistake the latter for it, and should, moreover, be filled with indignation when practical entomologists ventured to assert that the creature in question , 1 was a moth, and not a bird.

The boldness of this Moth is as remarkable as its wariness. ■ It really seems to place such confidence in its magnificent powers of flight that it despises danger. Let a Humming-bird » Moth take a fancy to a particular flower, and it will be almost 9 impossible to keep it from that flower. Time after time it may g be driven away, for, as I have already mentioned, even the » lifting of a hand will startle it. But it continually retmns to w the same flower, and, sooner or later, takes its fill of the sweet | j uices. There is scarcely a year wherein this Moth does not 5 find a place in the newspapers imder some title or other, some ^ of them not a little ludicrous. Eesidents in the East Indies t may well be pardoned for thinking the Moth to be a veritable | luimming-bird, but it is not so easy to see wliy so many persons < should assert that it is the locust of Scripture, should mentiou it under that name to the daily journals, and should answer with contumelious epithets tlie letters of eutomologists wLo

tell them that locusts and moths are not exactly the same

insects.

The enormously long proboscis or tongue, with which it extracts the liquid sweets from the flowers, has obtained for the genus to which this and a few other insects belong, the name of Alacroglossa.^ or Long-tongue.

The next insect on our list is the Nakrow-B ordered Bee Hawk-Moth {Maoroglossa bombyliformis).

According to Mr. Newman, this Moth belongs to the same genus as the last, but some authors place it in a different fixmily. Personally, I agree with Mr. Newman, and so accept his name. This is one of a number of Moths in which the wings are almost wholly denuded of scales, so that they are as transparent as those of the Hymenoptera, to some of which they bear a curious, not to say startling, resemblance.

The present species is called the Bee Hawk-Moth, because, with its translucent wings and hairy body, it bears a strangely close resemblance to a humble-bee. Indeed, so precisely do some of those insects resemble certain bees and wasps that, even to a practised eye, there is some difficulty in distinguishing them when on the wing. The colouring of this species is very simple. The edge of the wings is brown, narrow on the upper wings, and much narrower on the lower pair. The thorax is brown with a very slight tinge of green. The abdomen is dun-colour, crossed by three black bands ; one a very broad one at the base of the abdomen, and the two others quite narrow. There are some tufts of stiff black hair on the sides, which it spreads when flying, after the manner of the Humming-bird Moth.

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