MOTHS OF THE LIMBERLOST 



organism, wondrous colouring, and miraculous life pro- 

 cesses in the evolution of a moth, but that is all. Their 

 faces express nothing; their attitudes tell no story. There 

 is the marvellous instinct through which the males locate 

 the opposite sex of their species; but one cannot see 

 instinct in the face of any creature; it must develop in 

 acts. There is no part of their lives that makes such 

 pictures of mother-love as birds and animals afford. 

 The male finds a mate and disappears. The female 

 places her eggs and goes out before her caterpillars break 

 their shells. The caterpillar transforms to the moth 

 without its consent, the matter in one upbuilding the 

 other. The entire process is utterly devoid of sentiment, 

 attachment or volition on the part of the creatures 

 involved. They work out a law as inevitable as that 

 which swings suns, moons, and planets in their courses. 

 They are the most fragile and beautiful result of natural 

 law^ with which I am acquainted. 



