We cannot
do it. No human eye in the blackness of the night can distinguish
red from orange or crimson from yellow. The human eye is the greatest
of all anatomical marvels, and the most wonderful piece of animal
mechanism in the world, but not all of power is lodged within it.
There are other allied mechanisms which have the power of responding
to certain forms of radiant energy to a degiee which it does not possess."
This conclusion is not "irresistibly forced" upon me. I do believe,
know in fact, that all day-flying, feeding moths have keener sight
and longer range of vision than non-feeders; but I do not believe
the differing branches of the Catocalae group, or moths of any family,
locate each other "in the blackness of night," by seeing markings
distinctly. I can think of no proof that moths, butterflies or any
insects recognize or appreciate colour. Male moths mate with females
of their kind distinctly different from them in colour, and male
butterflies pair with albinos of their species, when these differ
widely from the usual colouring.
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