OCR Text |
Show 887.] VALUE OF COLOUR AND MARKINGS IN INSECTS. 223 ontinued). tperiments. A. Weismann. Llways rejected by L. viridis. i E. B. Poulton. - Refused by Frogs without tasting; also by Lizards. Miss Cundell tells me that Hyla arborea will eat Ladybirds in the winter when food is scarce. Refused by Frogs without tasting. See Miss Cundell's observation quoted above. Three Frogs in succession caught one queen Wasp and then released it very quickly, and after that it was untouched. Lizards would not touch it, but watched it narrowly. Bombus lapidarius eaten by L. viridis, but I have not witnessed the method. Refused on many occasions. Untouched by any of the Lizards. How far evidence supports the theory of " warning " and " mimetic " colours (Bates and Wallace). Strong support. Strong support. Strong support. Wallace also says of the Coccinellidte, to which family this and the last species belong :-" Certainly rejected by some birds;" but no details are given. Strong support. Romanes also told me he had seen a Spider capture a Wasp, and its great caution in the process was a further support, as also is the fact that Spiders generally release Wasps from their webs. Support, upon the whole ; they would certainly not have been touehed by the Lizards if there had been abundance of other food. Strong support. Bearing of evidence on Poulton's suggestion, as before. No evidence. Strong support from Miss Cundell's observation. Strong support from Miss Cundell's observation. The Frogs went as far as or farther than could have been expected. Strong support for an analogous suggestion for insects protected by stings instead of by a nauseous taste. This seems to indicate that the fear of a sting is very strong; for when the insects are too active to be killed without stinging (also the case with Wasps), they are not touched by the Lizards. lb* |