sands of night-blooming plant species? We do 
not know. Recently, researchers have shown 
that a desert cactus (Cereus peruvianus), pre- 
sumably pollinated by bats, puts on its largest 
display of flowers around the full moon. The 
species flowers over a few months with the 
number of flowers going up and down with the 
lunar cycles.!° 
The moon has always been associated with 
romance in our own human cultures. Surpris- 
ingly, there is insufficient data to establish a 
link between sexual activity with lunar cycles. 
Interestingly, though, research has shown that a 
larger proportion of females demonstrate ovula- 
tion during the full moon, and all genders expe- 
rience higher aggression levels and less sleep.!! 
Intertwined in the Web of Life 
It is evening again, and the sex lives of plants, 
moths, and humans intertwine. All of these 
organisms use the same compounds to attract 
mates: smell is a main stimulant for each. 
Plants, indeed, cannot smell, yet floral volatiles 
are a major incentive for moths to visit flowers. 
Among the three partners, plants reign 
supreme. They seem to dictate the terms of the 
relationships. Moths, in fact, are held in bond- 
age. They cannot attract mates without phero- 
mones for which the plants hold the precursors. 
Humans also seem to be dependent on plants as 
intermediaries, although they, of course, can do 
without them. 
For those who study life on earth, the inter- 
connections among plants, moths, and humans 
are not surprising. We are a part of the web of 
life that has celestial connections with other 
planets. These connections are vital for main- 
taining all lives, especially ours. We should cel- 
ebrate and value these connections that enrich 
our lives by ceasing our assault on nature. 
Endnotes 
! Arditti, J., Elliott, J., Kitching I.J., and Wasserthal, 
L.T. 2012. “Good Heavens what insect can suck 
it’”—Charles Darwin, Angraecum sesquipedale and 
Xanthopan morganii praedicta. Botanical Journal 
of the Linnean Society, 169: 403-432. https://doi. 
org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01250.x 
2 Netz, C. and Renner, S.S. 2017. Long-spurred 
Angraecum orchids and long-tongued sphingid moths 
Intertwined Lives 67 
on Madagascar: A time frame for Darwin’s predicted 
Xanthopan/Angraecum coevolution. Biological 
Journal of the Linnean Society, 122(2): 469-478. 
https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/b1x086 
3 Wasserthal, L.T. 1997. The pollinators of the Malagasy 
star orchids Angraecum sesquipedale, A. sororium 
and A. compactum and the evolution of extremely 
long spurs by pollinator shift. Botanica Acta, 110(5): 
343-359. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1438-8677.1997. 
tb00650.x 
4 See video in: Tartaglia, E. 2015. Year of the 
Sphingidae—Co-evolution. National Moth Week. 
https://nationalmothweek.org/2015/07/17/year-of- 
the-sphingidae-co-evolution/ 
° Stokl, J. and Steiger, S. 2017. Evolutionary origin of 
insect pheromones. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 
24: 36-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2017.09.004 
6 Miller, B.S. 1984. Theater of memory: The plays of 
Kalidasa. New York: Columbia University Press. 
7 Goody, J. 1993. The culture of flowers. Cambridge: 
Cambridge University Press, p. 323-324. 
8 Braun, N.A. and Sim, S. 2012. Jasminum sambac flower 
absolutes from India and China—Geographic variations. 
Natural Product Communications, 7(5): 645-650. 
https://doi.org/10.1177/1934578x1200700526 
°Rydin, C. and Bolinder, K. 2015. Moonlight 
pollination in the gymnosperm Ephedra (Gnetales). 
Biology Letters, 11(4): 10-13. https://doi.org/10.1098/ 
rsbl.2014.0993 
10 Ben-Attia, M., Reinberg, A., Smolensky, M.H., 
Gadacha, W., Khedaier, A., Sani, M.,... Boughamni, 
N.G. 2016. Blooming rhythms of cactus Cereus 
peruvianus with nocturnal peak at full moon 
during seasons of prolonged daytime photoperiod. 
Chronobiology International, 33(4): 419-430. https:// 
doi.org/10.3109/07420528.2016.1157082 
11 Moore, B. 2019. The effect of the lunar cycle on the 
female reproductive system. South Carolina Junior 
Academy of Science. https://scholarexchange.furman. 
edu/scjas/2019/all/242/ 
Acknowledgments 
I thank my wife, Tshering Bawa, for encouraging me to 
write this manuscript when I first discussed the idea with 
her almost twenty-five years ago. A series of discussions 
with Rohini Nilekani about Brahma Kamal (Epiphyllum 
oxypetalum), a nocturnal blooming cactus from Mexico 
and South America, but widely naturalized in Asia, was 
another source of inspiration. Meena Narayanswamy 
suggested several improvements in the manuscript. 
Kamaljit S. Bawa is president of the Ashoka Trust for 
Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), 
Bengaluru, India, and distinguished professor emeritus at 
the University of Massachusetts, Boston. 
