98 SUMMER 



Though most moths forgo the sunlight, they are as fond 

 of the nectar in flowers as the butterflies. The luminous 

 whiteness of some flowers seems correlated to the nocturnal 

 habits of the moths which fertilise them ; and the flowers 

 which shine pale at night are often also strongly scented 

 during the same hours. Other flowers have a rich nocturnal 

 perfume without the luminous colour. There is no positively 

 luminous quality in the blossom of the white jasmine or the 

 garden tobacco plant, as there is in the glow-worm or the 

 millipede ; but their pale hue makes them visible on any but 

 the darkest nights. Sometimes we see a sort of live mist, 

 quivering at a jasmine or petunia blossom in the dusk, and 

 may be fortunate enough to identify it as one of the rarer 

 hawk moths. Hawk moths prefer twilight rather than dark- 

 ness, but the garden blossoms after nightfall are often more 

 populous than on a sunny day. Even if we are not collectors, 

 it is worth while to go round the walks with a lantern after 

 dark, and surprise both ourselves and the nocturnal revellers 

 which spar so actively or drink so deeply on the blossoms. 

 The moths now show an activity which is in strong contrast 

 to their confused and torpid movements when we discover 

 them by day. They move briskly on the flowers, and turn 

 on us curious eyes which seem to glow angrily in the light of 

 the lantern. These jewel-like eyes of the moths are a strik- 

 ing feature of the feasts on the flowers, and give them an 

 attractive and oddly intelligent appearance by contrast with 

 the earwigs which also abound by night on many flowers. 

 Earwigs when surprised by the light writhe hastily into the 

 dark, often falling headlong from the pinnacle of the blossom ; 

 and the same expedient is practised by one group of the 

 heavy noctuid moths. They do not take wing, but tumble 

 to the ground ; and then they have two devices. Some lie 

 as they fall, often on their backs, and try to escape observa- 



