Plate XXVIII. fig. 2.
ORDER: Lepidoptera. SECTION: Crepuscularia. FAMILY: Sphingidæ, _Leach_.
GENUS. THYREUS, _Swains. Zool. Illustr. vol._ 1.
THYREUS LUGUBRIS. Alis brunneis, anticis strigis undatis parallelis
punctoque subocellari atris. (Expans. Alar. 2 unc. 9 lin.)
SYN. Sphinx Lugubris, _Linn. Mant._ 2. 537._Fabr. Ent. Syst._ III. 1.
356. _No._ 5. _Gmel. Linn. S. N._ 2372. 50. _Abbot and Smith Ins. Georg._
1. _t._ 30. _Swainson Zool. Illustr. 1st Series, vol._ 1.
HABITAT: Antigua (_Drury_). Georgia (_Abbot_).
_Upper Side._ Antennæ, head, thorax, and abdomen dark brown. The tail
very broad and hairy. All the wings dark brown chesnut; having very few
distinct marks or lines, except the anterior pair, which have a small
black discoidal spot, and a very narrow line next the shoulders of a
lighter brown, crossing them from the anterior to the posterior edges.
The posterior wings are slightly, the anterior deeply, dentated.
_Under Side._ Thorax, legs, abdomen, upper and lower wings rather paler
than on the upper side. On the anterior wings are two very faint brown
lines, crossing them from the anterior to the posterior edges, situated
between the middle and the external margin. On the posterior wings also
are two small faint waved lines of a darker colour, beginning at the
anterior edges and ending a little above the abdominal corners.
{56}The caterpillar of this hawk-moth was found by Abbot on the Virginian
Creeper. It went into the ground on the 18th of August, and the fly came
out on the 11th of September. The tail of the male spreads like a fan. This
is a very rare species; one was caught in the evening on a gourd blossom.
It flew exceedingly swift, making a noise like a humble bee. The
caterpillar is of a very pale greenish colour, with two dark dorsal lines,
terminating at the base of the straight tail; the sides of the body are
also ornamented with pale yellow oblique stripes, margined with brown. The
chrysalis is chesnut, with a short point at the extremity of the body, and
without any tongue-case.