Insects at home; being a popular account of insects, their structure, habits and transformations . e of Elephant Moth which is given to it is due, notto the perfect insect, but to the larva, which possesses thepower of elongating or contracting the three first segments ofthe body in a manner which is fancifully thought to resemblethe proboscis of the elephant. The generic title of Ghcero-campa, or swine-caterpillar, is given to this and other Mothson account of this structure of the larva. On either side of thefourth and fifth segment is a large, black, eye-like mark, whichmany persons really
Insects at home; being a popular account of insects, their structure, habits and transformations . e of Elephant Moth which is given to it is due, notto the perfect insect, but to the larva, which possesses thepower of elongating or contracting the three first segments ofthe body in a manner which is fancifully thought to resemblethe proboscis of the elephant. The generic title of Ghcero-campa, or swine-caterpillar, is given to this and other Mothson account of this structure of the larva. On either side of thefourth and fifth segment is a large, black, eye-like mark, whichmany persons really think to be the eyes of the larva feeds chiefly on the common willow-herb, and maybe found in August. The perfect insect makes its appearancein June. We now come to a very common and interesting insect, wellknown by the popular and appropriate name of Humming-birdMoth {Macroglossa stellataruTn), a figure of which is given onPlate XIV. Fig. 3. PLATE MOTHS. 1. Acherontia atropos. 2. Acherontia larva. 8. Macroglossa Macroglossa fuciformis. Plaux:— THE HUMMING-BIRD HAWK-MOTH. 423 The colours of this insect are anything but brilliant or con-spicuous, and yet it is a very pretty Moth. The upper wingsare brown, with a few slight black mottlings, and the lower •wings are warm chrome yellow, with a narrow edging of , it is coloured much like the lower wings, but the hueis duller. The thorax and abdomen are of the same colour asthe upper wings, but the latter has some black and white spotsalong the sides, which are covered with tufts of black and whitehair, which are spread during flight. There is a tuft of blackhair at the end of the abdomen. The caterpillar feeds chiefly on the Bedstraw (Galium), and,but for the characteristic horn at the end of the body, wouldscarcely be taken for the larva of a Hawk-Moth. Its colouris greenish brown, sometimes taking a pink tinge, and thereare two lines along the sides, one pink and wh
Size: 1228px × 2035px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectentomology, bookyear1
