of protection. Another exceptional case is that of the very conspicuous caterpillar of the spurge hawk-moth (Deilephila euphorbiæ), which was at once eaten by a lizard, although, as it exposes itself on its food-plant in the daytime and is very abundant in some localities, it must almost certainly be disliked by birds or by some animals who would otherwise devour it. If disturbed while feeding it is said to turn round with fury and eject a quantity of green liquid, of an acid and disagreeable smell similar to that of the spurge milk, only worse.[1]
These facts, and Mr. Poulton's evidence that some larvæ rejected by lizards at first will be eaten if the lizards are very hungry, show that there are differences in the amount of the distastefulness, and render it probable that if other food were wanting many of these conspicuous insects would be eaten. It is the abundance of the eatable kinds that gives value to the inedibility of the smaller number; and this is probably the reason why so many insects rely on protective colouring rather than on the acquisition of any kind of defensive weapons. In the long run the powers of attack and defence must balance each other. Hence we see that even the powerful stings of bees and wasps only protect them against some enemies, since a tribe of birds, the bee-eaters, have been developed which feed upon them, and some frogs and lizards do so occasionally.
The preceding outline will sufficiently explain the characteristics of "warning coloration" and the end it serves in nature. There are many other curious modifications of it, but these will be best appreciated after we have discussed the remarkable phenomenon of "mimicry," which is bound up with and altogether depends upon "warning colour," and is in some cases the chief indication we have of the possession of some offensive weapon to secure the safety of the species imitated.
Mimicry.
This term has been given to a form of protective resemblance, in which one species so closely resembles another in external form and colouring as to be mistaken for it, although the two may not be really allied and often belong to distinct
- ↑ Stainton's Manual of Butterflies and Moths, vol. i. p. 93; E. B. Poulton, Proceedings of the Zool. Soc. of London, 1887, pp. 191—274.
