by William Swainson

“ Hawk-moths, or Sphinxes, at the rising and setting of the sun; and Moths during the night. The insects of Europe, indeed, offer but few exceptions to these characters; but the habits of certain exotic tribes, in each of these families, partake both of one and the other in a remarkable manner. Thus, among the butterflies, there is a genus in South America (hitherto unnoticed) , which fly only during the dusk of evening: a number of the Linnæan Hawk-moths prefer the meridian heat of the sun; and there are not wanting several moths which are only seen during the same period of the day. ”