COLOURS AND FORMS OF INSECTS. 149 



and deposit their eggs undiscovered;' for ^did they 

 venture themselves amongst the humble bees in a less 

 kindred form, their lives would probably pay the for- 

 feit of their presumption.'* 



A two-winged fly {Volucella plumata, Meigen.) 



We do not conceive that any dissent from this doc- 

 trine has a tendency to weaken or destroy the smal- 

 lest link in the beautiful chain of causes which 

 leads us upwards to the admirable superintendence 

 of the great First Cause; and, therefore, we state 

 that, in the case before us, our justly eminent authors 

 surely forgot, that bees well know strange individuals 

 of their own species, and beat them off wlien they 

 attempt to plunder their hives; and these robber bees 

 are not only like but identical with themselves in shape, 

 clothing, and colour. Indeed, when it is considered 

 that in the designs of Providence, as evidenced by 

 the economy of nature, the nourishment of the stron- 

 ger species of carnivorous animals is as much regard- 

 ed as the means which the weaker have of escap- 

 ing from them, such general rules cannot be but of 

 very limited apphcation. 



Darwin, as we formerly mentioned, maintained that 

 butterflies resembled the colours of the flowers 

 which they frequent; and many of them may be 



* Intr. ii, 223. 

 VOL. VI. 13* 



