black and tinged with green. The hind wings are similarly coloured, but have no central spot. The body is olive-brown, with a broad reddish belt, and behind are tufts of hair, which are spread out when the insect flies, just after the manner of the tail feathers of a bird. The moth flies in May.
The larva resembles that of Stellatarum, but exhibits a violet tint above the legs. Its horn, too, is curved, and of a reddish or brownish colour. It feeds on the honeysuckle (Lonicera Periclymenum), ragged robin (Lychnis Flos-cuculi), evening campion (L. vespertina), red campion (L. diurna), lady's bedstraw (Galium verum), and the field scabious (Scabiosa arvensis), during the month of July.
Family Sesiidæ—The Clearwings
This family contains fourteen very pretty British insects that differ very much from other moths in many important and interesting particulars.
Their antennæ, like those of the Sphingidæ, are thickest beyond the middle, and those of the males are slightly ciliated or hairy. Their bodies are slender, and terminate behind in tufts of hair. The hind wings in all cases are transparent, margined and veined with black or brown; and the fore wings also, in most cases, have transparent bases.
These moths delight in the hottest sunshine, and may be seen gracefully hovering over the flowers in our gardens, looking more like gnats, bees, and wasps, than moths.
The larvæ of these insects are all wood-eaters, and spend their time within the stems of shrubs and trees, eating out galleries in the material that forms both their food and their home. Within these they also undergo their changes, and do not expose themselves to the free air and light till they reach their perfect stage.
The Hornet Clearwing of the Poplar (Trochilium Apiformis)
We can find space for a mention of only two of the clearwings, the first of which is an insect that closely resembles the dreaded hornet, and whose larva feeds in the stems of poplars—features which will account for the above name.