362 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 
with the night-flowering white species, Lychnis vespertina, Sibth. 
Lychnis diwrna, Sibth., is usually to be found in shady places— 
banks of rivers, woods, etc. L. Flos-cuculi, Linn., ordinarily pre- 
fers a somewhat damper soil. The habit of L. vespertina, Sibth., 
is the same as that of Z. diwrna, Sibth. Now Sir John Lubbock’s 
argument is that the red species are fertilised by Butterflies, and 
the white species by Moths. But in the West of Scotland we 
have no wood-frequenting Butterflies ; consequently, when growing 
in woods, Lychnis diwrna, Sibth., would stand a very poor chance 
of being fertilised. True, Plusia gamma, Linn., flies by day, but 
then it only flies for a short time compared with the flowering 
season of Lychnis diwrna, Sibth., and the Moth does not penetrate 
so far into the wood as the plant. If, then, Zychnis diwrna, Sibth., 
were dependent on day-flying species for fertilisation, it would 
necessarily tend to decrease in numbers, especially in wooded situa- 
tions. On the other hand, Lychnis vespertina, Sibth., which does 
not differ in habit from its red relative, has apparently in our neigh- 
bourhood all the advantages—conspicuousness, plenty of nectar, 
an exceedingly agreeable fragrance, and many species of night- 
flying insects passing in all directions. Why should it not flourish 
and increase? Yet Lychnis diurna, Sibth., is an exceedingly 
common plant even in woods, and Lychnis vespertina, Sibth., is 
unquestionably a rare one. 
The truth is, Lychnis diwrna, Sibth., is not fertilised by Butter- 
flies, but by Moths during the evening and night, and the same 
holds good of Lychnis Flos-cuculi, Linn., though neither species 
possesses a distinct smell, nor is in the least conspicuous. I have 
myself taken five species of Plusia at Lychnis Flos-cuculi, 
Linn.—Plusia gamma, Linn., P. iota, Linn., P. pulchrina, 
Haw., P. chrysitis, Linn., and P. festuce, Linn.—and all these, 
with the exception of P. festuce, Linn., at Lychnis diwrna, Sibth. 
The genus Dianthecia is also said to be very fond of these plants, 
and theyare also frequented bysuch common and widely-distributed 
species as Mamestra brassice, Linn., Apamea basilinea, Fb., and 
A. gemina (Hiib.). I did on one occasion, at Torrance of Campsie, 
try the flowers of Lychnis vespertina, Sibth., for Moths without 
seeing any, but the plants were so few in number that this did not 
constitute a fair test. Unfortunately, Lychnis vespertina, Sibth., 
grows no longer at the place named. 

