
LEPIDOPTERA IN RELATION TO FLOWERS. 361 
wings, can only be placed second to the Bees in the constancy of 
their affections for flowers. Plusia gamma, Linn., flies both by 
day and in the evening, and Plusia iota, Linn., shows itself less 
frequently in the sunshine, and the other species are evening fliers 
only. The Plusias differ from most other Noctuz in that they often 
sip nectar while hovering on the wing, never remaining long at one 
flower. If they do settle, they are ready to start off on the least 
motion of the observer. The plants which I have found most 
attractive to Moths are :— 
Witp Fiowers.—Lychnis diurna, Sibth.; L. Flos-ceuculi, Linn. ; 
L. vespertina, Sibth. ; Anthyllis Vulneraria, Linn. ; Rubus (sp. ?) ; 
Potentilla Comarum, Nestl.; Hedera Helix, Linn. ; Sambucus 
nigra, Linn. ; Lonicera Periclymenum, Linn. ; Scabiosa Succisa, 
Linn. ; Senecio Jacobea, Linn. ; Cnicus arvensis, Hoftm. ; Cen- 
taurea nigra, Linn.; Thymus Serpyllum, Fr.; (?) Urtica dhoica, 
Linn. ; Salix. 
GarRDEN FLowers.—Viola, Tropzolum, Sweet William. 
Of these flowers two are green, two white, five yellow (includ- 
ing Sallow), seven red or purple, and two blue; and the forms of 
the flowers are as variable as their colours, ranging from very 
highly-specialised, long-tubed forms, like Lychnis and Lonicera, to 
the very shallow cups of the Ivy. The Ivy, Ragwort, Sallow, and 
Sweet William probably attract more species and greater numbers 
than all the others put together. 
Flowers which open in the evening are usually white, or, at 
any rate, very pale in colour ; and from this fact some have argued 
that white being so conspicuous in the dark, these flowers have 
developed it in order that insects might perceive them the more 
readily. _Conspicuousness, however, instead of attracting, may 
repel dark-coloured insects, such as are the majority of the night- 
flying Moths. When a lepidopterist goes out “sugaring,” he 
takes very good care not to spread his mixture on the side of the 
tree which is towards the light, knowing that if he did so he 
would not see an insect. Moreover, all night-flowering plants, in 
addition to a copious supply of nectar, are possessed of a singu- 
larly sweet and agreeable aroma. May this superabundance of 
sweets not counteract a weakness—their conspicuousness ? 
Let us take the two plants which stand first on the list—Lychnis 
diwrna, Sibth., and Lychnis Flos-cuculi, Linn., and eompare them 
