122 MIMICRY, AND OTHER PROTECTIVE 



caterpillars were repeatedly put into the webs both of 

 the geometrical and hunting spiders (Epeira diadema 

 and Lycosa sp.), but in the former case they were 

 cut out and allowed to drop ; in the latter, after dis- 

 appearing in the jaws of their captor down his dark 

 silken funnel, they invariably reappeared, either from 

 below or else taking long strides up the funnel again. 

 Mr. Butler has observed lizards fight with and finally 

 devour humble bees, and a frog sitting on a bed of 

 stone-crop leap up and catch the bees which flew over 

 his head, and swallow them, in utter disregard of 

 their stings. It is evident, therefore, that the posses- 

 sion of a disagreeable taste or odour is a more effec- 

 tual protection to certain conspicuous caterpillars and 

 moths, than would be even the possession of a sting. 

 The observations of these two gentlemen supply 

 a very remarkable confirmation of the hypothetical 

 solution of the difficulty which I had given two years 

 before. And as it is generally acknowledged that 

 the best test of the truth and completeness of a 

 theory is the power which it gives us of prevision, 

 we may I think fairly claim this as a case in which 

 the power of prevision has been successfully exerted, 

 and therefore as furnishing a very powerful argu- 

 ment in favour of the truth of the theory of Natural 

 Selection. 



t Summary. 



I have now completed a brief, and necessarily very 

 imperfect, survey of the various ways in which the 



