ANIMAL COLORATION. 



Longitudinal Striping of Caterpillars. 



Sir John Lubbock, in a very interesting survey of the colours 

 of Caterpillars,* comments upon the connection that exists 

 between longitudinal stripes upon caterpillars and a habit of 

 feeding either upon grass or low-growing plants among grass. 

 The green or brownish colours of these caterpillars, of course, 

 heightens the resemblance to grass leaves, the longitudinal 

 stripes representing the veins upon these leaves. The bulk of 

 the caterpillars (found in Great Britain) that frequent such 

 situations exhibit these characters. They are also for the 

 most part motionless during the day an absolute necessity for 

 protective coloration to confer any benefit. Without any 

 further statement it might be at once inferred that this must 

 be a case of protective resemblance brought about for purposes 

 of concealment. But, before accepting this conclusion, it will 

 be desirable to examine the facts a little more critically. 



Grass-feeding caterpillars are not confined to any one group 

 or order : they are confined neither to butterflies nor moths ; 

 plenty of instances occur in both these two divisions of the 

 Lepidoptera. The striped caterpillars particularly referred to 

 by Sir John Lubbock are those of the Satyridae, a family of 

 butterflies typified by the abundant " Meadow Browns." The 

 Ga Hum-feeding larva of the Humming-bird Hawk moth has 

 also these longitudinal stripes ; the Bedstraw or Galium, 

 however, often grows in patches where there is no grass. The 

 Skippers or Hesperidre, a family which seems to be a con- 

 necting link between the butterflies and moths, feed upon 

 small plants, and are longitudinally striped. So, too, are the 

 larva? of the genera Leucania, Nonayria, Caradrina, Apamea, 

 and Jfiana, among the JSTocture. The caterpillar of the " Duke 



* " Scientific Lectures," London, 1879. 



