Volume 33, Plate VI / Entomology (Insects)

Caterpillars of Metopsilus Tersa, Sphinx Chionanthi & S. Gauræ

1. Metopsilus Tersa. An elephant hawk-moth of the New and West Indian regions, about three inches across, greyish olive-brown, the anterior wings with delicate lighter oblique lines, the hind wings black at the base and brown along the margin with a row of cream-coloured triangular spots. The green caterpillar bears reddish-brown spots, yellow ocellated marks, and a white lateral stripe, feeding on a spermacoce and sometimes seen sucking gourd blossoms in autumn in Georgia.
2. Sphinx Chionanthi. A conspicuous New World sphinx of rich brown variously mottled with waved and clouded white, the fore wings with white base, transverse bars, a central round white spot, and a posterior patch faintly resembling a death’s-head, the hind wings almost wholly brown. The yellowish-green caterpillar bears oblique white, purple, and blue side stripes and feeds on the fringe-tree, privet, and lilac; this uncommon moth often dies in the chrysalis through winter.