62 MIMICRY, AND OTHER PROTECTIVE 



said to be absolutely perfect ; and the protection which 

 it affords is sufficiently indicated by the abundance of 

 the individuals that possess it. 



The Rev. Joseph Greene has called attention to the 

 striking harmony between the colours of those British 

 moths which are on the wing in autumn and winter, 

 and the prevailing tints of nature at those seasons. In 

 autumn various shades of yellow and brown prevail, 

 and he shows that out of fifty-two species that fly 

 at this season, no less than forty-two are of corres- 

 ponding colours. Orgyia antiqua, 0. gonostigma, the 

 genera Xanthia, Glsea, and Ennomos are examples. In 

 winter, gray and silvery tints prevail, and the genus 

 Chematobia and several species of Hybernia which 

 fly during this season are of corresponding hues. No 

 doubt if the habits of moths in a state of nature were 

 more closely observed, we should find many cases of 

 special protective resemblance. A few such have al- 

 ready been noticed. Agriopis aprilina, Acronycta psi, 

 and many other moths which rest during the day on the 

 north side of the trunks of trees can with difficulty bo 

 distinguished from the grey and green lichens that 

 cover them. The lappet moth (Gastropacha querci) 

 closely resembles both in shape and colour a brown 

 dry leaf; and the well-known buff- tip moth, when at 

 rest is like the broken end of a lichen-covered branch. 

 There are some of the small moths which exactly re- 

 semble the dung of birds dropped on leaves, and on this 

 point Mr. A. Sidgwick, in a paper read before the 

 Rugby School Natural History Society, gives the 



