COLOURS AND FORMS OF INSECTS. 149 



nests 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 forfeit of their presumption *." 



A two-winged fly (^Fulucclla plumata, Meioes'). 



We do not conceive that any dissent from this 

 doctrine has a tendency to weaken or destroy the 

 smallest 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, iu the case before us, our justly eminent authors 

 surely forgot, that bees well know strange individuals 

 of their own species, and beat them off when 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 con- 

 sidered that in the designs of Providence, as evi- 

 denced by the economy of nature, the nourishment of 

 the stronger species of carnivorous animals is as 

 much regarded as the means which the weaker have 

 of escaping from them, such general rules cannot be 

 but of very limited application, 



Darwin, as we formerly mentioned, maintained 



that butterflies resembled the colours of the flowers 



which they frequent ; and many of them may be 



granted to do so without leading us to adopt the 



* Inlr. ii. 223. 



