EXPLANATION OF PLATE IV

(The specimens figured are contained in the collection of W. J. Holland.)

I. Proto parce quinquemaculatus Haworth, f.

IO.

Calasymbolus astylus Drury, ♂.

11. Sphinx jamaicensis Drury, form geminatus Say, ♂. Calasymbolus myops Abbot & Smith,

12.

.

present themselves, will recognize the propriety of the separation, which has been made.

(1) Pachysphinx modesta Harris, Plate VII, Fig. 1, 8. (The Big Poplar Sphinx.)

Syn. princeps Walker.

Form occidentalis Henry Edwards, Plate VII, Fig. 2, f. (The Western Poplar Sphinx.)

Syn. imperator Strecker.

This noble hawkmoth feeds in the larval stage upon various species of the genus Populus and upon willows. There are a number of local races or subspecies, two of which we give; the common eastern form and the western variety. The latter may at once be distinguished by its generally paler coloration. It ranges over the United States and as far south as northern Mexico.

Genus CRESSONIA Grote & Robinson

There is but one species in this genus. The insect is easily recognizable, in spite of the fact that it varies considerably in the color of the wings.

(1) Cressonia juglandis Abbot & Smith, Plate VI, Fig. 9, . (The Walnut Sphinx.)

Syn. instabilis Martyn; pallens Strecker; robinsoni Butler. The caterpillar feeds upon the black walnut, the butternut, and the hop-hornbeam. Some of the larvæ are green, others are reddish, but the color of the larvæ seems to have no relation to any variation in color of the perfect insects. The species is distributed from Canada to Florida and westward to the eastern boundary of the great plains.

SUBFAMILY SESIINÆ

Genus PSEUDOSPHINX Burmeister

There is but one species in this genus, which is structurally closely related to the species falling into the genus Erinnyis. It is a characteristic insect of the American tropics, and possesses a very wide range.

(1) Pseudosphinx tetrio Linnæus, Plate VI, Fig. 2, 8. (The Giant Gray Sphinx.)

Syn. plumeria Fabricius; rustica Sepp; hasdrubal Cramer; asdrubal Poey; obscura Butler.

The larva of this hawkmoth has a long thread-like anal horn. It is very strikingly colored, the body being purplish black, girdled with yellow rings between the segments, and the head and anal claspers being bright red, of the coior of sealing wax. It feeds upon various Euphorbiaceous plants, preferably Plumeria. The insect occurs not uncommonly in southern Florida.

Genus ERINNYIS Hübner

This is a moderately large genus, the species of which are all confined to the tropical or subtropical regions of the Western Hemisphere, though one species, as we shall see, occasionally occurs as a straggler far north of the metropolis of the genus.

(1) Erinnyis alope Drury, Plate V, Fig. 12, 8. (The Alope Sphinx.)

Syn. flavicans Goeze; fasciata Swainson; edwardsi Butler.

The caterpillar is brown on the upper side, and pale green on the lower side, the colors being separated by a dark brown interrupted lateral band on either side of the body. On the third segment from the head there is a dark spot relieved by a red ring in the centre. The anal horn is quite short. The larva feeds upon Jatropha and Carica. The insect occurs in southern Florida and ranges southward as far as northern Argentina.

(2) Erinnyis lassauxi Boisduval.

Form merianæ Grote, Plate V, Fig. 2, 9. (Madame Merian's Sphinx.)

Syn. janipha Boisduval.

This hawkmoth, which is widely distributed through the tropics of the new world, displays considerable variation, and several forms, or local races, have been recognized. The one which occurs within our territory we have figured, and the student will have no difficulty in recognizing it. The larva, which is said to closely resemble that of the next species, is reported to feed upon Morrenia in the West Indies. It occurs in Florida.

(3) Erinnyis ello Linnæus, Plate V, Fig, 10, 8; Fig. 3, 9. (The Ello Sphinx.)

This is quite the commonest of all the hawkmoths of the American tropics, and becomes a perfect drug in collections made by amateur naturalists, who venture into those