152 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 



break their petals when a bee or a butterfly alights 

 upon them. This lack of hospitality is accorded 

 by the hemlock stork's-bill. 



Perhaps of all plant-hostesses the yucca stands 

 first. The yucca is not unselfish in her elegant 

 manner of entertaining ; neither is she unwise. She 

 is well repaid for all her trouble in entertaining her 

 guests she has but one kind, the yucca-moth. 



The yucca and her guest are inseparable: where 

 one is found, there also is the other. Examine 

 the yucca blossom and you will always find in it 

 the delicate, fairy-like guest, draped in her 

 strangely beautiful white costume. If it is day- 

 time, the guest will be resting with folded wings, 

 waiting for the busy night hours ; for then she has 

 work to perform. 



The male yucca-moths are seen more often than 

 the females. They flit from flower to flower in the 

 evening, gathering pollen and looking after out- 

 side affairs in general, while their mates are busily 

 engaged in the flowers. The female moth has no 

 time for visiting among her neighbours, for she 

 must constantly attend to her household duties. She 

 must prove a satisfactory guest, reciprocating the 

 generosity of the plant, which produces food for her 

 offspring,, This the moth does by gathering to- 

 gether large balls of pollen, packing and rolling it 



