142 CHAPTER XIX. 



entangled in one of these traps ; he must remain a 

 prisoner, or leave his limb behind. I have watched a 

 house-fly vainly struggling to escape. 



When the pod of a Vincetoxicum or a Gompho- 

 carp splits down one side, it shows the seeds tipped 

 with white silky hairs : those in the Oleander pod 

 (Fig. 54) are chocolate brown. I have seen these 

 silky hairs from the fruit of a Physianthus (the 

 climbing plant mentioned above) used by milliners as 

 an ornament for a lady's hat. The wearer would find 

 it hard to explain the origin of the fluffy decoration : 

 indeed, a botanist might be puzzled by such a curiosity. 

 These silky hairs much resemble those in the fruit 

 of a Willow, but the latter spring from the base of 

 the seed. 



The Oleander feeds the caterpillar of a lovely 

 moth, one of those that fly very swiftly just about 

 sunset, Deilephila Nerii (Fig. 56). The colour is that 

 of malachite, and the pattern on the wings is not easy 

 to describe. The veteran naturalist Bruyat told me 

 that he had often found these larvae on the Oleander 

 bushes in the town ; I have not been so fortunate. 

 Mr. Bicknell says that quantities of them may be 

 collected in the Nervia valley. The Oleander Hawk 

 larvae must be poison-proof, like Mithridates, king of 

 Pontus. 



A striking butterfly of the genus Danais is 

 attached to the Asclepiads. As these plants are 

 fairly common in the gardens here, it might perhaps 

 not be difficult to naturalize the insect on the Riviera. 

 Collectors would have to give him a few years' start. 

 I read somewhere that Danais was actually estab- 

 lished in Naples, but perished in a severe Winter 



