The body is long, brown, hairy, and terminating in a tuft of divergent hairs, reminding one of a bird's tail. It is for this reason that it has been called by the French _Sphinx Moineau_, or Sparrow Sphinx. This resemblance is so great, that Mr. Bates, in his book on the Amazons, says he often shot species of this genus in mistake for humming-birds. The caterpillar of this remarkable Lepidopteron (Fig. 179) is of a pale green, with eight transversal rows of small white dots and four longitudinal rows, of which two are white and two yellowish. It has a dark blue horn, with an orange-coloured tip. It lives on different species of bed-straw, but by preference on the _Galium mollugo_. Before its metamorphosis, it encloses itself in a shapeless cocoon, made of the _débris_ of leaves held together by threads, and placed on the surface of the ground. The pupa (Fig. 180) is of a light grey, sprinkled over with brown dots, and striped with black. Its skin is so thin and transparent that one can follow it through all the phases of transformation to the imago. [Illustration: Fig. 179.--Caterpillar of Humming-bird Hawk-Moth (_Macroglossa stellatarum_).] [Illustration: Fig. 180.--Pupa of Macroglossa stellatarum.] The genus _Deilephila_ is composed of species whose flight is rapid, and after sunset. Such are the _Deilephila euphorbiæ_, the Oleander Hawk-Moth (_Deilephila_ [_Chærocampa_] _nerii_), and the large Elephant Hawk-Moth (_Deilephila_ [_Chærocampa_] _elpenor_). The _Deilephila euphorbiæ_ (Fig. 181) has the upper wings of a reddish grey, with three spots of greenish or olive colour along the costa, or front margin, and a broad black oblique band along the hind margin. The lower wings are red, with the base black, and a transverse black band towards the edge; they have, moreover, a large round white spot on the inside; beneath the wings are red, as also is the body, which is covered above with greenish hairs. This species is exceedingly rare here, but is plentiful on the Continent during the months of June and September. [Illustration: Fig. 181.--Deilephila euphorbiæ.] [Illustration: Fig. 182.--Larva of Deilephila euphorbiæ.] The larva (Fig. 182) is one of the most remarkable of the genus on account of the splendour and the vividness of its colours, and appears to be covered with varnish. It has a number of small yellow dots very close to each other on a glossy black ground, which are ranged in circles. On each side of the body are two longitudinal rows of spots generally of the same colour as the dots, and a narrow band of carmine runs down the middle of the back, and a similar band, which is intersected by yellow, is to be seen above the legs. This caterpillar is almost always found on the Cyprus-leafed spurge. It is found first at the end of June. Generally the chrysalis passes through the winter, and the moth emerges in the following year. [Illustration: Fig. 183.--Deilephila (Chærocampa) nerii.]