The Bionomics of South African Insects. 345 



ilithyia was treated in the same way, 



being apparently mistaken for an Acriea. 



I then offered a female Ano'ploenemis 



cuTvipes ; the bird ate the head, but 



evidently in some doubt ; it continued 



with the thorax however, but showed its 



dislike by repeated sharp shaking of the 



head, and finally dropped the abdomen. 



I put a male of the same bug on its 



perch, but though it examined it carefully 



it would not touch it ; yet this species is 



eaten greedily by the baboons. 



[There are several very significant results from the 



above-recorded experiments on kestrels. The rejection of 



B'l/blia, after trial and rejection of an Acrxa, may have 



been due to the superficial resemblance. On the other 



hand, this bird (C. riqncoloidcs) was apparently not fond of 



butterflies, for after eating (Jan. 12) Precis, Junonia, and 



AtcIIa and (Jan. 13) Gatopsilia,\\Q refused all Rhopalocera. 



The refusal of an Acridian marked with bright green, 



yellow, and black, and its acceptance when the colours 



were hidden was almost certainly the result of unpleasant 



experiences with conspicuously-marked insects, of which a 



particular instance was afforded when the larva of L. 



chrysippus was offered. Such association of impressions 



brought about by very imperfect resemblances are of great 



importance in helping us to understand the origin of 



mimicry, both Batesian and Miillerian, in slight accidental 



resemblances of a very rough and imperfect kind. It also 



warns us not to regard as far-fetched or absurd those 



imperfect likenesses which may well be the early stages 



of incipient mimicry. The refusal of the Lycoid Longicorn 



Blepisanis may be similarly due to a previous experience 



of Lycidse, or it may be truly distasteful and synaposematic. 



The latter interpretation is certainly true of the Lycoid 



Melyrid Prionoccrus also refused by the kestrel " with 



unmistakable signs of dislike." 



The other species of kestrel, G. ncmmanni, was much 

 fonder of butterflies and of insects generally, eating the 

 brightly-coloured grasshopper on all occasions. The fact 

 that it took special notice of and pecked at the eye-spots 

 on the hind-wing of P. demodocus is of much interest, and 

 recalls an observation of my own quoted on pp. 440, 441. 

 Such observations strongly confirm the interpretation of 



