152 ANIMAL COLORATION. 



which it was placed. Fowls were evidently afraid of it, but 

 finally cautiously attacked it and ate it. Lady Verney made 

 some experiments with the same caterpillar : it was placed on 

 a tray with some crumbs, and no small birds would approach 

 the tray ; they were evidently frightened by the snake-like 

 appearance of the caterpillar. So far, the experiments do not 

 strike one as very conclusive : small birds would have possibly 

 shown just as much hesitation or alarm at an equally large 

 caterpillar of any kind; and the jay, which was of a suitable 

 size, ate it. The behaviour of the fowls was not so intelligible. 



Mr. Poulton's experiment was better : he found that a 

 Lacerta viridis, which had often devoured large Hawk moth 

 caterpillars of other species "without any ceremony," evinced 

 some suspicion at the sight of this terrifying larva of Ch&ro- 

 campa elpenor ; ultimately, however, it must be noticed, the 

 caterpillar was eaten. And that appears to be rather the 

 important fact. The question is, whether in a wild state the 

 lizard's attention might have been drawn off by the sight of 

 some less alarming-looking prey, or whether it would have 

 overcome its fears in the same way that the captive lizard did. 

 If the eye-like markings of the caterpillar are of the very least 

 use in frightening away enemies, we can understand that they 

 may have originated, or at least become perfected, to this end. 

 But if they only temporarily disconcert a lizard who has possibly 

 not seen the insect or anything like it before, and who finishes 

 by eating it, it is not intelligible that they can have arisen 

 for so useless a purpose. 



It is to be noted, however, that warning coloration of the 

 kind referred to in the foregoing pages does not always seem 

 to be effective. 



I have already mentioned my own experiments with regard 

 to A. grossulariata ; this same caterpillar, as well as many 



