362 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 



with the night-flowering white species, Lychnis vesjoertina^ Sibth. 

 Lychnis diui'na, Sibth., is usually to be found in shady places — 

 banks of rivers, woods, etc. L. Flos-citculi, Linn., ordinarily pre- 

 fers a somewhat damper soil. The habit of L. vespertina, Sibth., 

 is the same as that of L. diurna, Sibth. Now Sir John Lubbock's 

 argument is that the red species are fertilised by Butterflies, and 

 the white species by Moths. But in the West of Scotland we 

 have no wood-frequenting Butterflies ; consequently, when grooving 

 in woods, Lychnis diurna, Sibth., would stand a very poor chance 

 of being fertilised. True, Plusia gamma, Linn., flies by day, but 

 then it only flies for a short time compared with the flowering 

 season of Lychnis diurna, Sibth., and the Moth does not penetrate 

 so far into the wood as the plant. If, then. Lychnis diurna, Sibth., 

 were dependent on day-flying species for fertilisation, it would 

 necessarily tend to decrease in numbers, especially in wooded situa- 

 tions. On the other hand, Lychnis vespertina, Sibth., which does 

 not differ in habit from its red relative, has apparently in our neigh- 

 bourhood all the advantages — conspicuousness, plenty of nectar, 

 an exceedingly agreeable fragrance, and many species of night- 

 flying insects passing in all directions. Why should it not flourish 

 and increase? Yet Lychnis diurna, Sibth., is an exceedingly 

 common plant even in woods, and Lychiis vespertina, Sibth., is 

 unquestionably a rare one. 



The truth is. Lychnis diurna, Sibth., is not fertilised by Butter- 

 flies, but by Moths during the evening and night, and the same 

 holds good of Lychnis Flos-cucidi, Linn., though neither species 

 possesses a distinct smell, nor is in the least conspicuous. I have 

 myself taken five species of Plusia at Lychnis Flos-cucidi, 

 Linn. — Plusia gamma, Linn., P. iota, Linn., P. pidchrina, 

 Haw., P. chrysitis, Linn., and P. festucm, Linn. — and all these, 

 with the exception of P. festucce, Linn., at Lychnis diurna, Sibth. 

 The genus Dianthoecia is also said to be very fond of these plants, 

 and they are also frequented by such common and widely-distributed 

 species as Mamestra brassicce, Linn., Apamea hasilinea, Fb., and 

 A. gemina (Hiib.). I did on one occasion, at Torrance of Campsie, 

 try the flowers of Lychnis vesp)ertina, Sibth., for Moths without 

 seeing any, but the plants were so few in number that this did not 

 constitute a fair test. Unfortunately, Lychnis vesjjertina, Sibth., 

 grows no longer at the place named. 



