THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 191 



I have never witnessed them after 8.30 p.m., the moths disappearing as 

 quickly as they came. What do these gatherings mean ? Why did they 

 select one spot, hover over it for a while, and then disappear? The 

 revellers were all males ; on a willow twig below the swarm was the lady 

 moth, whom they all sought. When a partner was selected, the others 

 went off, perhaps to form other oscillating groups nearby, perhaps to hide 

 till next evening (whether there is a corresponding flight in the morning 

 twilight I know not), perhaps to be eaten up by the bats, which destroy 

 quantities of the moths. 



The females are seldom found flying till after the dance of the males 

 is over. Their flight is altogether different, very swift, only a few feet from 

 the ground, and usually in a great sweeping curve. As it is almost dark, 

 it is difficult to make accurate observations on the habits of the females, 

 but this style of flight is probably of importance to the moth in the 

 disposition of her eggs. Most moths lay a comparatively small number of 

 eggs, say 300 or 400, placing them on, or near, the plants on which the 

 larvae feed, but these Ghost-moths lay at least 2,000, and drop them 

 broadcast as they fly about. There is a regular stream of eggs ; it is like 

 the discharge of bullets from a rapid firing Maxim gun. If a piece of paper 

 be held beneath the moth, when flying, or when held by the wings, the 

 eggs can be heard pattering on the paper as if fine sand were being sifted 

 through the fingers over it. The eggs are exceedingly small for such a large 

 insect, being smaller than those of our tiny blue butterflies. 



When laid they are of a dirty white colour, turning black within a few 

 hours. They are quite smooth, and do not adhere to the leaves or grass. 

 One would think that eggs deposited in this haphazard manner would 

 result in a very large percentage of deaths of the baby larvse through not 

 being able to find the proper food-plant, though possibly almost any tender 

 roots may suffice for their first meals, or till they reached the proper kind. 



The quick flight of the moth from one clump of bushes to another 

 may tend to ensure the loss of the least possible number of eggs, and at 

 the same time enable the female to deposit eggs over a much wider area. 

 The larvee feed on the roots, boring into them, but it seems impossible to 

 breed them in confinement, and it is not yet known whether more than one 

 year is spent in the larval stage. 



Let us look at one of the moths which we have just caught, with its 

 beautiful soft lemon-yellow wings, with brown costa, folded over the body 



