MOTHS OF THE LIMBERLOST 



day, we are led to wonder what there could be in the 

 double distilled odour of Cecropia, the muskiest of all 

 moths to me, that would serve to deter mice, birds, and 

 bats from attacking it. 



The fact is that moths smell like other moths of the 

 same species, and within a reasonable radius they un- 

 doubtedly attract each other. In the same manner birds 

 carry a birdlike odour, and snakes, frogs, fish, bees, and 

 all animals have a scent peculiar to themselves. No dog 

 mistakes the odour of a cat for that of another dog. A 

 cow does not follow the scent of horses to find other cattle. 

 No moth hunts a dragon-fly, a butterfly, or in my ex- 

 perience, even a moth of another species in its search for 

 a mate. How male moths work the miracles I have seen 

 them accomplish in locating females, I cannot explain. 

 As the result of acts we see them perform, we credit some 

 forms of life with much keener scent than others, and 

 many with having the power more highly developed 

 than people. The only standard by which we can deter- 

 mine the effect that the odour of one insect, bird, or animal 

 has upon another is by the effect it has upon us. That a 

 male moth can smell a female a block away, against the 

 wind, when I can detect only a faint musky odour within 

 a foot of her, I do not credit. 



Primarily the business of moths is to meet, mate, and 

 deposit eggs that will produce more moths. This is 

 all of life with those that do not take food. That they 



