Sphingidae

“ Four families of Sphingina occur in the Palæarctic region, and there are several peculiar genera.
In the Zygænidæ there are two exclusively European genera, and the extensive genus Zygæna is itself mainly Palæarctic. The small family Stygiidæ has two out of its three genera {188}confined to the Palæarctic region. In the Ægeriidæ the genus Ægeria is mainly Palæarctic. The Sphingidæ have a wider general range, and none of the larger genera are peculiar to any one region. ”

“ Female Sphingidæ, however, do not generally lay eggs in confinement,66 or at most only a very small number. In the case of many species (Deilephila Galii, D. Lineata, D. Vespertilio, D. Hippophaës) I have for this reason unfortunately been unable to observe the entire development, and such observations would in all probability have given especially valuable information.
I was certainly successful in finding the young larvæ of some of the above as well as of other species on their food-plants, but even in the most favourable instances only individuals of the second stage and generally older. ”

“ Anterior and external edges white; and near the shoulders is placed a white oval spot on each. Posterior wings ash-coloured, but round the edges are white; appearing to be less pellucid than on the upper side. The triangular spot is scarcely discernible on this side.
PLATE XXIX.
SPHINX ACHEMON.
Plate XXIX. fig. 1.
Order: Lepidoptera. Section: Crepuscularia. Family: Sphingidæ. Genus. Sphinx, Auct.
Sphinx Achemon. Alis anticis griseo-fuscis maculis tribus marginalibus et apicalibus brunneis, posticis roseis externe fuscis, maculis nigris submarginalibus. (Expans. Alar. 4 unc. 3 lin.) ”

“ This has319 already been shown with respect to the Sphingidæ, in which the oblique stripes are only completely developed in the subfamilies Smerinthinæ and Sphinginæ. The species of Smerinthus all live on trees such as willows, poplars, lime, oak, &c., and all possess oblique stripes. The genus Anceryx also belongs to the Sphinginæ, and these caterpillars, as far as known, live on trees with needle-shaped leaves. The moths of this last genus are very closely allied to the species of Sphinx, not only in form and colour, but also in many details of marking. ”

“ I have collected all the time I have been here, we have not a tenth part of what you have. Did you young people really catch them all yourselves?” We assured her we had done so in our morning and evening walks “Walks?” she exclaimed “Walk? do you walk?I never do, I have a carriage!” ...then said my little woman — you won’t have a collection!” How we did tramp about! What lovely spots we found. We knew every path and track through the cinnamon jungle and named them according to the insects we caught there. On Sphinx road” we have seen thousands of Sphingidae of an evening. ”

“ In some the right side is male, in others the left side; the opposite side in each case being female. Much information on this subject and on Hybridism of the Sphingidæ will be found in Tutt's "British Lepidoptera," vol. iii.
The pale shining green eggs are laid, generally singly, but sometimes in twos, threes, or more, on either surface of a leaf of poplar or sallow. Now and then batches of eggs may be found, and these have probably been laid by females that were crippled on emergence, or had been afterwards injured in some way and so were unable to fly.
Fig. 17.Eggs of Poplar Hawk-moth. ”

“ Species, which vary little, 80
closely allied inhabit distinct areas, 111
vigour and fertility of, how kept up, 327
Spencer, Mr. Herbert, on factors of organic evolution, 411
on effects of disuse, 413
on difficulty as to co-adaptation of parts, 417
on direct action of environment, 418
Sphingidae, protective attitudes of larvae, 210
Sphinx ligustri, general resemblance of larva to food plant, 202
Spider, alluring coloration of, 211
Spines, on origin of, 431
rarity of, in oceanic islands, 432
Spiny plants abundant in South Africa and Chile, 433 ”

“ Freshwater sponges have few living enemies. Indeed, it is difficult to say exactly what is an enemy of a creature so loosely organized as a sponge. There can be little doubt, in any case, that the neuropteroid larva (Sisyra indica) which sucks the cells of several species should be classed in this category, and it is noteworthy that several species of the same genus also occur in Europe and N. America which also attack sponges. Other animals that may be enemies are a midge larva (Tanypus sp.) ”

“ An animal that may be an enemy of S. carteri is a flat-worm (an undescribed species of Planaria) common in its larger canals and remarkable for the small size of its pharynx. The same worm, however, is also found at the base of the leaves of bulrushes and in other like situations, and there is no evidence that it actually feeds on the sponge. Injured sponges are eaten by the prawn Palæmon lamarrei, which, however, only attacks them when the dermal membrane is broken. A Tanypus larva (Chironomid [Pg 93] Diptera) that makes its way though the substance of the sponge may also be an enemy ”

“ Whoever will give himself the trouble to examine thoroughly a collection of British Lepidoptera, will find a very great majority of them evincing very evident symptoms of relation to one or other of the following species:—Papilio Machaon, Sphinx Ligustri, Pyralis verticalis, Tinea pellionella, Noctua pronuba, and Geometra roboraria; and should any form widely different from either of these occur, it may, if the larva be known, be placed in the centre of a ring formed by the groups, which we will suppose surrounding their six respective types ”

“ As the process continues a pear-shaped body is produced, solid at the broader end, which consists of the larger cells, but hollow at the other. Further changes result in the whole of the external surface becoming ciliated or covered with fine protoplasmic lashes, each of which arises from a single small cell; considerable differentiation now takes place among the cells, and spicules begin to appear. At this stage or earlier (for there seem to be differences in different species and individuals as to the stage at which the young sponge escapes) the larva makes its way out of the parent sponge. ”

“ What insect, then, is here implied? The sphinx-moth again, one of the lesser of the group. A larger individual might sip the nectar, it is true, but its longer tongue would reach the base of the tube without effecting the slightest contact with the pollen, which is of course the desideratum here embodied, and which has reference to a tongue corresponding to the length of the nectary. There [Pg 193] are many of these smaller sphinxes. Let us suppose one to be hovering at the blossom's throat. ”

“ A great proportion of the perfect insects have hyaline spots and patches in their wings, and nearly all of them are brilliantly coloured. It is known that Linnæus occasionally, as in Tenebrio and the present instance, made his genera recipients of species, which he found a difficulty in locating properly; but it is really astonishing to find a naturalist like Latreille abiding by so absurd a combination as the contents of the Linnæan genus Sphinx, and, in servile imitation, calling creatures which nothing but an unclouded sun ever tempts abroad—Crepuscularia. ”

“ The caterpillar is very destructive to hops, by devouring the roots.
27 Sphinx atropos.—This is called the Death’s Head moth from the resemblance of the spot on its thorax to a human skull. It is the largest of the Sphinx tribe, and is vulgarly regarded as the messenger of pestilence and death. When touched it utters a plaintive cry, like that of a bat or mouse. Reaumur says, that a whole convent in France was thrown into consternation, by one of these moths flying into the dormitory. It frequently robs hives, and Huber states, that its cry renders the bees motionless. ”

“ Spongillina are distributed over all continents except Antarctica, and show high endemism with the exception of a few widespread species such as Spongilla lacustris and Ephydatia fluviatilis. The suborder is divided into six families (and an incertae sedis complement) , the largest of which, Spongillidae, contains more than half the number of species. There has been some debate over the likelihood of multiple invasions of the freshwater habitat by sponges, so prudency dictates that the issue remains unsolved [96] . ”

“ Max Weber found it in small streams in Malaysia. It is common in India on the leaves of Vallisneria and Limnanthemum, on the roots of Pistia stratiotes and on the stems of rushes and grass. So far as I have been able to discover, the life of the individual sponge is short, only lasting a few weeks.
Sexual reproduction occurs seldom or never, but reproduction by means of buds and gemmules continues throughout the year. The former is a rare method of reproduction in most Spongillidæ but in this species occurs normally and constantly, the buds being often very numerous on the external surface. ”

“ The shallow depression in the crown of the head, once thought to be the terminus of a closed up passageway leading from the Sphinx to the Great Pyramid, was merely intended to help support a headdress now missing.
Metal rods have been driven into the Sphinx in a vain effort to discover chambers or passages within its body. The major part of the Sphinx is a single stone, but the front paws have been built up of smaller stones. The Sphinx is about 200 feet long, 70 feet high, and 38 feet wide across the shoulders. ”

“ Laurent observed reproduction by splitting in young individuals of Spongilla, but I have not been able to obtain evidence myself that this method of reproduction occurs normally in Indian species. In injured specimens of Spongilla carteri, however, I have observed a phenomenon that seems to be rather an abnormal form of budding, little rounded masses of cells making their way to the ends of the radiating skeleton fibres and becoming transformed into young sponges, which break loose and so start an independent existence. ”

“ Sponges living in muddy water are often nearly black. This is because the cells of their parenchyma are gorged with very minute solid particles of silt. If a sponge of the kind is kept in clean water for a few days, it often becomes almost white. An interesting experiment is easily performed to illustrate the absorption and final elimination of solid colouring matter by placing a living sponge (small specimens of Spongilla carteri are suitable) in a glass of clean water, and sprinkling finely powdered carmine in the water. ”

“ If the single type theory were driven to its logical conclusion, it would be necessary to select one particular polyp in a hydroid colony, or even the part of a sponge that surrounded a particular osculum as the type of the species to which the hydroid or the sponge belonged. Either by accident or by design specimens of Spongillidæ, especially if kept dry, are usually broken into several pieces. There is, as a matter of fact, no reason to attribute the peculiarly sacrosanct nature of a type to one piece more than another. ”

“ The most abundant and possibly the most important organisms that may be considered as benefactors to the Spongillidæ are the green corpuscles that live in the cells of certain species (fig. 2, p. 31) , notably Spongilla lacustris, S. proliferens, and Dosilia plumosa. I have already said that these bodies are in all probability algæ which live free in the water and move actively at one stage of their existence, but some of them are handed on directly from a sponge to its descendants in the cells of the gemmule. ”

“ But I must say that naturalists are not in agreement on the structural mode of sponges. For some it's a polypary, and for others, such as Professor Milne–Edwards, it's a single, solitary individual.
The class Spongiaria contains about 300 species that are encountered in a large number of seas and even in certain streams, where they've been given the name freshwater sponges. But their waters of choice are the Red Sea and the Mediterranean near the Greek Islands or the coast of Syria. ”

“ A delicate membrane often occurs outside this coat, but it is never thick or horny. The gemmules usually lie free in the sponge but sometimes adhere to its support; rarely they are fastened together in groups (e. g. in S. aspinosa, Potts) . The skeleton-spicules are never very stout and the skeleton is always delicate.
The species in this subgenus are closely allied and must be distinguished rather by the sum of their peculiarities than by any one character. They occur in all countries in which Spongillidæ are found. Seven Indian species may be recognized. ”

“ The Central Capsule of the Spongurida is either ellipsoidal or cylindrical. Only in Spongellipsis it lies freely in the internal cavity of the spongy shell. In all other genera it is perforated by a part of the skeleton; in the Spongodruppida it contains the simple or double medullary shell, and the radial beams which perforate its membrane and connect the latter with the external spongy cortical shell. In Spongurus and the allied genera (Spongocore, Spongoprunum) the whole central capsule is filled with a spongy framework which also envelops its surface. ”

“ There is a large number of ‘unknown’ species: hidden in the many collections worldwide are numerous sponge species awaiting description. Unlike most other marine taxa sponges show dramatic post-collection preservation changes in habit and color, making comparison with living material difficult unless the species has a uniquely recognizable form. Unless good images of living material are available, discovery of new taxa is almost invariably a matter of comparing preserved samples with type material of previously described species. ”