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Updated: May 4, 2025
Some one, in fact, was approaching; for, suddenly, a bevy of young girls ran down from the top of the hillock, following the cavaliers the cause of this interruption being a magnificent hawk-moth, with wings like rose-leaves. The prey in question had fallen into the net of Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente, who displayed it with some pride to her less successful rivals.
This resemblance has attracted the notice of the natives, who firmly believe that one is transmutable into the other. The resemblance between this hawk-moth and the humming-bird is certainly very curious, and strikes one, even when both are examined in the hand.
The similarity of motion in Families is another subject well worth the consideration of the naturalist: the soaring of the Birds of Prey, the heavy flapping of the wings in the Gallinaceous Birds, the floating of the Swallows, with their short cuts and angular turns, the hopping of the Sparrows, the deliberate walk of the Hens and the strut of the Cocks, the waddle of the Ducks and Geese, the slow, heavy creeping of the Land-Turtle, the graceful flight of the Sea-Turtle under the water, the leaping and swimming of the Frog, the swift run of the Lizard, like a flash of green or red light in the sunshine, the lateral undulation of the Serpent, the dart of the Pickerel, the leap of the Trout, the rush of the Hawk-Moth through the air, the fluttering flight of the Butterfly, the quivering poise of the Humming-Bird, the arrow-like shooting of the Squid through the water, the slow crawling of the Snail on the land, the sideway movement of the Sand-Crab, the backward walk of the Crawfish, the almost imperceptible gliding of the Sea-Anemone over the rock, the graceful, rapid motion of the Pleurobrachia, with its endless change of curve and spiral.
They passed in time the rocks that guard Madeira, the green bay of Funchal, the peak of Teneriffe, and then the ship turned on its heel to the West Coast, and, while yet a thousand miles away, was welcomed by two messengers a shrike and a hawk-moth, who had sailed along some upper current of air with red sand from the Sahara to filter down at last on to a firm resting-place.
For tadpoles to take such action as this was as reasonable as for an orchid to push a fellow blossom aside on the approach of a fertilizing hawk-moth.
Mad with love the brilliant hawk-moth, afraid of the flame yet determined to win the fire for the princess, hovered round and round the candle flame, coming nearer and nearer each time. "Now or never, the princess or death," he buzzed, as he darted forward to snatch a flash of flame, but singeing his wings, he fell helplessly down, and died in agony.
They resemble the hawk-moth, which also keeps up a constant vibratory motion with its wings.
The hawk-moth, with its burly body, may often be seen hovering gracefully, on quivering wings, over some favourite flower, as if it were hung there on cords, while it rifles it of its store of accumulated sweets by means of its long unfolded tongue.
And I was fortunate in seeing a kingfisher dart upon the water, hover for an instant like a hawk-moth over honeysuckle, and, having caught a small gudgeon, fly away with it in its beak.
Its stomach, burned by pungent spices, will find the Crucifera insipid and uneatable, though its piquancy is enhanced by essence of sulphur. The Pieris, on its part, takes good care not to touch the tithymals: they would endanger its life. The caterpillar of the Death's-head Hawk-moth requires the solanaceous narcotics, principally the potato, and will have nothing else.
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