16 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



NOTE ON PLUSIA PRECATIONIS AT PETUNIA BLOSSOMS. 



RY A. F. WINN, WESTMOUNT.* 



During the past summer the Westmount Park gardener devoted to 

 Petunias a circular bed about 20 feet in diameter, and knowing the fond- 

 ness of the Piusias for tlie blossoms of this plant, I paid a little attention 

 to it, my original intention being to see how many species I would find 

 visiting it. 



The flowers were of the old-fashioned single kinds, small blossoms, but 

 hundreds of them, and were of three colours: first, a deep magenta or 

 purple ; second, a pale, washed-out looking variety of same, and third, 

 pure white. 



My first visit was on August 17, before dusk, and I had not long to 

 wait, as while it was still quite light two Piusias appeared and quickly took a 

 head-first plunge into the funnel-shaped blooms. They were easily boxed, 

 and proved to be both P. precationis. A number of others soon followed, 

 flying about among the blossoms, and I was struck with an unexpected 

 circumstance, that they were all seleccing the dark-coloured blooms. This 

 seemed remarkable, as white colour in flowers has been considered a sort 

 of special guide for crepuscular and night-flying moths. The colour of the 

 Piusias matched so well that of the blooms in the now fading light, that I 

 wondered whether, when darkness actually set in, the moths would adjourn 

 to the white blooms, so walked around and around the bed, watching 

 developments, doubtless to the amusement or mystification of the park 

 frequenters. After a while a moth fluttered over the bed, and went boldly 

 into a white blossom. I tried to box it, but was in too great a hurry and 

 missed, but saw that it was no Plusia, Next moment I had it, or another 

 — CiicuUia intermedia. There were soon lots of them, and without 

 exception they selected the white blooms, while the Piusias kept to the 

 dark ones, and long after it was so dark that one could see only the 

 swaying blossoms by the light of the nearest street lamp, they kept to their 

 respective colours. The result of the evening's catch was 67 Fhisia pre- 

 cationis and 23 Cucullia intermedia, and nothing else. Not a single moth 

 was seen to get into the tube of any of the washed-out coloured blossoms, 

 though they were continually fluttering past. On several other evenings 

 up to the 8th September, the same two moths were the sole visitors of 

 the Petunias. 



*Read before Montreal Branch, Entomolog^ical Soc. of Ontario, Nov. 9, 1907, 



