Fig. 196.—Lime Hawk-Moth (Smerinthus tiliæ).
Fig. 197.—Larva of the Lime Hawk-Moth (Smerinthus tiliæ).
Fig. 198.—Eyed Hawk-Moth (Smerinthus ocellatus).
We will mention still further, in the family of the Sphingidæ, three species of the genus Smerinthus, which fly heavily and by twilight.
The Lime-tree Hawk-moth (Smerinthus tiliæ, [Fig. 196]) has its upper wings grey with some shades of green, and moreover, in the middle of the wing an irregular band of a brownish green colour. The thorax, covered with hairs, is grey, with three green longitudinal bands. The abdomen is also grey. The moth flies heavily after sunset, and is found on the trunks of trees during the months of May and June. The larva ([Fig. 197]) is glaucous green dotted with yellow, and marked on each side with seven oblique lines of the same colours. Its wrinkly horn is blue above and yellow below. It is found on the lime and the elm. It buries itself at the foot of the tree on which it has fed to change into a chrysalis without making a cocoon.