THE MOTH S HOUR 175 



the term, for it is designed to operate in an upper layer 

 of the air. The new entomologist wishes to find out both 

 the altitude at which insects fly and the exact hours of 

 night or twilight that is their hey-day. 



We are all moth-ers (if the word is rightly pronounced) 

 in some sort. When we light the lights of an autumnal 

 evening and leave the window open for the sake of the 

 sweet air we must all wonder how it comes about that an 

 insect devoted to the darkness should nevertheless be 

 drawn inevitably to the brightest light in its neighbour 

 hood ; and the men of science have never resolved our 

 dim wonder into the light of common day. Most of us 

 know more than we want to know about the clothes 

 moth whose eggs foul and whose grubs chumble our 

 precious stuffs. Most countrymen know the little moth 

 that wavers in its multitudes round the oaks that its 

 caterpillars defoliate, it may be of every leaf. There are 

 day moths and night moths. There are even town as 

 well as country moths, for Kensington Gardens boasts 

 at least as many &quot; Vapourers &quot; as any country grove, 

 though singularly few other moths or butterflies are proof 

 against the urban parasites. 



If many moths are obvious, others are singularly 

 evasive, dodging even the most expert seeker ; and one 

 reason is that the race is as particular about its hours as a 

 sundial. As in early summer the singing birds break 

 forth into a jubilate of song just before dawn, never 

 again quite reaching such a pitch of zeal, so certain 

 moths, especially our larger moths, enjoy an aerial dance 

 at particular hours only, in some species preferring, as is 

 probable, the hour after sunset and the hour before sun 

 rise. More than this : different species have their special 

 dancing floors, some just above the ground, some at un 

 known altitudes. I saw not long since a fine avenue of 



