OTHER THEORIES OF SEXUAL COLOURING 317 



quality. The former division would contain the 

 colours displayed in courtship and when the insect is 

 on the alert, concealed at other times. 



The immense difference between the two divisions, 

 the one most pleasing, the other highly repugnant to 

 our aesthetic susceptibilities, seems to me to be enth^ely 

 unexplained if we assume that the colours of both are 

 intended for the purposes of recognition. But these 

 great differences are to be expected if we accept Mr. 

 Darwin's views ; for the colours and patterns of the 

 latter division appeal to a vertebrate enemy's sense of 

 what is conspicuous^ while those of the former appeal 

 to an insect's sense of what is beautiful. It is, of 

 course, highly remarkable that our own aesthetic sense 

 should so closely correspond with that of an insect. 

 I believe, however, that it is possible to account for 

 this wonderful unanimity in taste. 



Our standards of beauty have been largely created for us 

 by insects 



Our standards of beauty are largely derived from 



the contemplation of the numerous examples around 



us, which, strange as it may seem, have been created 



by the aesthetic preferences of the insect world. One 



of the most fruitful inquiries originated by Darwin 



has been the renewed investigation of the marvellous 



relation between insects and flowers, a subject which 



had been previously attacked by Sprengel in 1708. 

 15 



