THE FLOWERS OF BRAZIL 



sees that the inflorescence is surrounded by swarms of tiny white 



moths, which in the moonlight have a metallic lustre. For a while 



they dance their fandango in silence; then a female flutters aside 



and creeps into a flower. Here, with a sickle-shaped scraper, created 



only for this purpose, she sweeps the pollen together, and flies oflf 



to another flower, holding the mass of pollen, which is often three 



times the size of her head. Now we see that this 



little creature is equipped with an ovipositor, a 



most unusual organ in the order of the Lepi- 



doptera. This ovipositor, which is infinitely 



slender, but none the less hollow, is thrust into 



the ovary, and an egg is laid at the side of one 



of the seed-capsules. Once her work is done the 



moth crawls up the pistil and thrusts the pollen 



which she has brought into the stigma (Fig. i6). 



Now the work is done, and the little moth 

 leaves the flower. From the egg emerges a cater- 

 pillar, which devours the seeds in the ovary until .^yi 



it is mature, when it gnaws its way out, lets itself p^^ j g 'p^^^ Yucca 



down from the flower by a thread from its moth is shown at A 



spinnerets, and pupates in a cocoon. But as soon 



as the flowers of the Palm-lily bloom again the 



little moth emerges. In the meantime her old 



dwelling has not done so badly, for a single 



flower produces 200 seeds, while the caterpillar 



eats only eighteen to twenty, so that even if 



several eggs have been laid in the ovary enough 



remain to propagate the plant. The moth, of 



course, pushes the pollen into the stigma simply 



in order that the seed shall be fertilized and 



develop, and so provide food for the caterpillar, 



for unless fertilized the ovary would wither. But 



the plants profit by the moth's exertions, for without these moths 



the Yuccas, whose home is in Central America, cannot reproduce 



themselves. The finest form, however, the splendid Gloria, can be 



reared only from shoots, since the seeds never develop, because 



(or so it is presumed) its special moth is extinct. 



It is difficult to imagine a more astonishing spectacle than that 

 of this little moth, which, in conveying the pollen to the stigma, 

 is apparently as conscious of her purpose as any gardener. And yet 

 the whole action is instinctive. For who could teach the moth what 



245 



sweeping up the 

 pollen from a 

 stamen, 5; in B she 

 is thrusting it into 

 the stigma of a 

 Yucca blossom, 

 after laying an egg 

 in the ovary, which 

 is seen surrounded 

 bystamens. C shows 

 a section of the 

 ovary, with the 

 caterpillar lying 

 amidst the seeds. 

 {Adapted from Riley) 



