TAB. XXXII.
S P H I N X C O N V O L V U L I
P O T A T O E H A W K -M O T H .
C O N V O L V U L U S B A T A T A S L I N N .
SW E E T P O T A T O E S .
2. L E G I T IM A % ALLS- IN T E G R lS ; A N O S IM P L IC I;
•S. alis integris.: pofticis nigro fafciatis margine poftico albo pundtatis, abdomine rubro
cingulis atris.
Sphinx Convolvuli. Lhm. Syft. Nat. 798. Druiy’s ln f. V. 1. t. 25. f . 4.
T h i s caterpillar feeds on th e fweet potatoe plant, and is fometimes frequent,
though the moth is rare. Its chryfalis is often dug up w ith th e potatoes. In Virginia
one o f thefe infedts buried itfelf October 3d, an d came fo rth in its perfect
llate th e 30th o f May; in Georgia one w e n t in to the ground the 2 0 th o f AuguP,
an d came o u t th e l l th o f September.
We oannot difcover any material diftindtion between this and the moth which feeds on
plants of the fame genus in Europe, and is often feen fluttering about in towns and houfes,
making as much noife as a bat 'or fmall bird, for both which it is often taken by the vulgar.
The reddith tinge on the under wings of the American one is the only difference we can find,
and is furely not fufficient to make that kind any more than a variety, as Mr. Drury fuppofes
■it. Profeffor Fabricius does not even diftinguifli it as fuch. Mr. Latham informs us this
variety has been obferved in England,