120 MIMICRY, ASD OTHER PROTECTIVE 



terflies were equally rejected ; but in both these cases 

 Mr. Weir thinks it is the taste, not the hairs or spines, 

 that are disagreeable, because some very young cater- 

 pillars of a hairy species were rejected although no hairs 

 were developed, and the smooth pupaa of the above- 

 named butterflies were refused as persistently as the 

 spined larvae. In these cases, then, both hairs and 

 spines would seem to be mere signs of uneatableness. 



His next experiments were with those smooth gaily- 

 coloured caterpillars which never conceal themselves, 

 but on the contrary appear to court observation. Such 

 are those of the Magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata), 

 whose caterpillar is conspicuously white and black 

 spotted the Diloba coeruleocephala, whose larvae is 

 pale yellow with a broad blue or green lateral band 

 the Cucullia verbasci, whose larvse is greenish white 

 with yellow bands and black spots, and Anthrocera 

 filipendulse (the six spot Burnet moth), whose cater- 

 pillar is yellow with black spots. These were given 

 to the birds at various times, sometimes mixed with 

 other kinds of larvse which were greedily eaten, but 

 they were in every case rejected apparently unnoticed, 

 and were left to crawl about till they died. 



The next set of observations were on the dull- 

 coloured and protected larvse, and the results of nu- 

 merous experiments are thus summarised by Mr. 

 Weir. " All caterpillars whose habits are nocturnal, 

 which are dull coloured, with fleshy bodies and 

 smooth skins, are eaten with the greatest avidity. 

 Every species of green caterpillar is also much re- 



