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Dr. Arthur G. Butler,



smaller, softer, and less mimetic looping larvae are eaten wholesale;

that of Halia vauaria (the V-moth) is a favourite food of the Tits

when they are rearing nestlings.


I should imagine that the true leaf-insects related to Mantis ,

and some other large leaf-like Orthopterous insects, would be pro¬

tected almost as much by the great expanse of inedible chitinous

material, which produces the foliiform aspect, as by its deceptive

character, though doubtless passing birds are deceived thereby. The

leaf-like butterfly ( Kallima ), of one species of which Alfred Bussell

Wallace many years ago exhibited a group sitting with closed wings

on almost leafless twigs (at a conversazione of the Linnaean Society),

was extremely convincing ; but the late Mr. Pryer, of Sandakan, told

me that he had only seen the Bornean species sitting on the ground.

One would not see a number of scattered leaves lying edgewise on

the eai'th, and it would require a very foolish bird to be deceived by

them : we must therefore hope that they had only descended on to

damp sand for a drink.


If these mimetic forms were nasty, one could understand that,

after sampling them, a bird might fight shy of them ; although I

proved that in some cases my birds seemed to acquire a taste for

insects which they at first refused ; and Mr. Swynnerton has proved

that insectivorous animals, both birds and beasts, will, when hungry,

eat more or less nauseous insects. I have never known my birds to

refuse caterpillars on account of their colour, although they naturally

fight shy of bizarre types with which they are not familiar. Some

years ago I had the misfortune to offend my friend Prof. Poulton by

pointing out that the (rather fanciful) resemblance of the caterpillar

of the lobster-moth to a spider could only he an inducement to an

insectivorous bird to eat it. I was under the impression that the

late H. W. Bates had suggested the resemblance, hut I was soon

undeceived.


Of course all aviculturists are well aware of the eagerness with

which all insect-eating birds pursue spiders, tiny Waxbills seizing

upon full-grown females of the common garden spider ( Epeira

cliademata ) ; while I have seen Tits go for the largest examples

of the house-spider (Tegenaria domcstica) and devour them

greedily.



