EFFORT AND ACCOMPLISHMENT 195 



colour-blind to certain colours, and hence visit only 

 flowers which they see as brilliant ones. Lubbock 

 experimented with dabs of honey on strips of glass 

 over papers of various colours. By shifting the 

 honey and glasses about over the papers, he appar- 

 ently demonstrated that the honey-bee preferred 

 to alight upon the honey which was over a blue 

 paper. 



Kerner tells of observing a similar preference on 

 the part of bees. In the Botanical Gardens of 

 Vienna were two bushes of the Monarda in full 

 bloom the fistulosa and the didyma. The former, 

 being of a purplish-red, received all the visits of the 

 bees, whilst the latter, of a scarlet-red, was shunned, 

 or at least neglected. 



It is certain that the night-moths and other noc- 

 turnal insects see by night better than we do. Our 

 day is their night ; our night is their day. For them 

 the greater part of the white flowers bloom. Yet 

 they can doubtless see colours well at night, for 

 many moths, on spreading their wings, unfold 

 gorgeous under-wings with which to attract and 

 fascinate their mates. 



Now it is a curious fact that brightly coloured 

 butterflies frequent the gayest flowers, often choos- 

 ing those whose colour corresponds, or at least har- 

 monises, with their own. Why is this? The ex- 



