CHAPTER X 



THE COLOURATION OF INSECTS 



The study of the colouration of insects has been attracting 

 more and more attention from evolutionists, whether of 

 the Darwinian or Mutationist school, since Bates ^ and 

 Fritz Muller 2 in South America, Wallace ^ in the Malay- 

 Archipelago, and Trimen 4 in South Africa gave the first 

 explanation of the phenomena now known as Mimicry, 

 and interpreted by these naturalists on the lines of Dar- 

 win's hypothesis. 



In this chapter examples will be given which have 

 come within my own experience on the Sesse Islands, 

 and an attempt will be made to show how the Darwinian 

 explanation is more satisfactory than that of the Muta- 

 tionist. 



In 1890 Poulton classified the colours of animals in 

 one scheme, embracing Apatetic or " Deceitful " colours ; 

 Sematic or " Warning " colours; and Epigamic or " Court- 

 ship " colours.^ The first two headings only will be dis- 

 cussed. 



Apatetic colours are divided into Cryptic and Pseudo- 



^ " Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazons Valley." H. W. 

 Bates, Trans. Linn. Soc, vol. xxiii, 1862, Pt. III. 

 * Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond., 1897, p. xx. 



3 " On the Phenomena of Variation and Geographical Distribution 

 as illustrated by the Papilionidae of the Malayan Region." A. R. Wallace, 

 Trans. Linn. Soc, vol. xxv, Part I, 1865. 



4 Roland Trimen, " On Some Remarkable Mimetic Analogies among 

 African Butterflies." Trans. Linn. Soc. xxvi, 1870, Part III, 1869. 



^ The Colours of Animals, 1890. 



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