They
visit the same blooms, and vary but little in size. The distinction
that must have made the difference was that while Lineata kept
company with the hummingbirds and fed all day, Celeus came forth at
dusk, and flew in the evening and at night. But that did not
conclusively prove it a moth, for nighthawks and whip-poor-wills did
the same; yet unquestionably they were birds.
Anyway, I always knew Celeus was a moth, and that every big, green
caterpillar killed on the tomato vines meant one less of its kind
among the flowers. I never saw one of these moths close a tomato
or potato vine, a jimson weed or ground cherry, but all my life
I have seen their eggs on these plants, first of a pale green
closely resembling the under side of the leaves, and if they
had been laid some time, a yellow colour. The eggs are not dotted
along in lines, or closely placed, but are deposited singly, or
by twos, at least very sparsely.
The little caterpillars emerge in about a week, and then comes the
process of eating until they grow into the large, green tomato or
tobacco worms that all of us have seen.
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