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Show 234 DARWINJS]\[ CllAl'. black Tolephoridro, commonly called "soldiers and sa.ilors," were found, by Mr. Jenner \V eir, to bo refused by small birds. These and the allied Lampyridro (the fire-flies and glow-worms) in Nicaragua, were rejected by Mr .. Belt's tame monkey n.nd by his fowls, though most other m. ects were greedily eaten by them. The Ooccinellidro or lady-birds arc another uneatable group, and their conspicuous and singularly spotted bodies servo to distinguish them at a glance from all other beetles. These uneatable insects are probably more numerous than is supposed, although wo already know immon. o nnmben; that are so protected. The mo t remarkable arc the three families of butterflies-Heliconidre, Danaidm, and Acrroidrecomprising more than a thousand species, and characteristic rospectiyoly of tho throe groat tropical regions-South America, Southern Asia, and Africa. All these butterflies have peculiarities which serve to distinguish them from every other group in their respective regions. They all h:we ample hut rather weak wings, and fly slowly; they arc always very abundant; and they all have conspicuous colours or markings, so distinct from those of other families thn,t, in conjunction with their peculiar outline and mode of flight, th ey can usually be recognised at a glance. Other distinctive features are, that their colours nrc always nearly the same on the under surface of their wings as on the upper; they never try to conceal themselves, but rest on the upper surfaces of leaves or flowers; and, lastly, they all have juices which exhale a powerful scent, so that when one kills them l>y pinching the body, the liquid that exudes stains tho fingers yellow, and leaves an odour that can only be removed hy repeated washings. Now, there is much direct evidence to show that this odour, though not very off'onsi vo to us, is so to most inRoctoating creatures. Mr. Bates observed that, when sot ont 1o dry, specimens of lieliconidro wore less subject to tho attacks of vermin ; while both he and I noticed that they were not attacked by insect-eating birds or dragonflies, and th at their wings wore not found in tho forest paths among tho numerous wings of other bnttorflios whose bodies had been devoured. Mr. Belt once observed a pair of birds capturing iusocts for IX WARNING COLORATION AND MIMICRY 235 their young; and although tho Iloliconidre swarmed in t.ho vicinity, and from their slow flight could have been oas~ly caught, not one w:ts over pursued, although other buttorfl~es did not escape. Ilis tame monkey also, which would groed1ly munch np other butterflies, would never eat the Heliconid::e. It would sometimes smell them, but always rolled them up m its hand and then dropped them. We have also some corro. poncling evidence as to tho distastefulness of the Eastern Danaidre. Tho Ron. Mr. Justice Newton, who assiduously collected and took notes upon the Lepidoptera of Bombay, informe~ Mr .. Butler of the Briti ·h Museum that the largo and swlft-ftymg butterfly Oharaxos psaphon, was continually persecuted by the bulbul, so that he rarely caught a . pecimon of this species which had not a piece snipped out of the hind wings. He offered one to a bulbul which he had in a cage, and it was greedily devoured, whilst it was only by repeated persecution that he succeeded in inducing the bird to touch a Danais.1 . Besides these three families of butterflies, there are certam groups of the ~reat genus Papilio-the ~ru.o swallow-tailed butterflies-which have all tho chamctenstiCs of uneatable insects. They have a special coloration, usually rod and black (at least in the females), they fly slowly, they arc very abund:mt and they possess a peculiar odour somewhat like that of tho Jleliconidre. One of these groups is common in tropical America, another in tropical Asia, and it is curious that althouah not very closely aJliod, they have each tho same red ~nd bla~k colours, and are very distinct from all the other butterflies of their respective countries. Thoro is reason to believe also that many of the brilliantly colonrod and weakflying diurnal moths, lilco the fino tropical Agaristic~::c and burnet-moths, arc similarly protected, and that th01r conspicuous colours servo as a warni~1g of inodibility. Tho common burnet-moth (Anthrocera fibpendula) and tho equally conspicuous ragwort-moth (Eucholia jacobere) have boon proved to be distasteful to insect-eating creatures. 1 Natgre, vol. iii. p. 165. Professor Meldola. observed that specimen~ of Dauai.· and Euplrea in collections were less snhJect to the attacks of mt~es (Proc. Ent. oc., 1877, p. xii.); and this was conoborated by Mr. JeuuerWe1r. Entomoloyist, 1882, vol. xv. p. 160. |
