160 THE ROLL OF THE SEASONS 



problems to the evolutionist that the formula " sexual 

 selection " seems incapable of solving. Beautiful as 

 are the tints, and clear and uniform as are the 

 patterns, we cannot imagine, for instance, the male 

 yellow under-wing submitting his charms to the con- 

 sort he is wooing, and challenging his rivals to the 

 game of simulating a shooting star. The insect mind 

 does not seem equal to such a feat of deliberation as 

 this would imply in the female. 



On the other hand, protective as are in hundreds 

 of instances the upper wings of our moths, which are 

 alone seen when the insect is at rest, the gorgeous 

 colours that they show when the lower wing is un- 

 covered seem to serve no useful purpose. The 

 crimson under-wing is a gorgeous sight when dis- 

 playing with apparent care its brilliant flight-colours 

 in some sun-speckled wood, and the suddenness with 

 which it disappears on alighting is admirable to the 

 human spectator. But that surely is not sufficient 

 " consideration " to warrant nature in producing such 

 brilliance and such antics. When we find the shorn- 

 off wings of many victims beneath the place where 

 the bat has hooked himself to devour their bodies, 

 we very rarely find hind-wings that are not con- 

 spicuously light by comparison with those that cover 

 them when the moth is at rest. On the other hand, we 

 have seen a bat chase an old lady, a large and uniformly 

 sombre moth, for minutes together without success. 

 It seems, then, that the gaiety of our butterflies of 

 the night is a distinct disadvantage in this important 

 respect. It is nothing compared to that of wearing 

 equally conspicuous colours when at rest by day under 

 the inquisitive eyes of the tits and other hostile birds. 



