406 Mr. G. A. K. Marshall <m 



whole oftiie evidence for the unpalatability of Abraxas givss- 

 ulariata, especially the larva, whicli has been chieHy em- 

 ployed for the purposes of experiment. Professor Plateau 

 gives a fair and admirable resume of the work of the earlier 

 experimenters on the larva, showing that they arrived at 

 the opinion that it was unpalatable, from the uniform 

 behaviour of many European insectivorous animals, viz. 

 many species of birds,* two species of spiders, the common 

 frog, the tree frog, and many species of lizards. In describ- 

 ing the last experiments, those of ¥. E. Beddard, F.R.S., and 

 F. Finn, conducted almost exclusively upon non-European 

 animals ("Animal Coloration," London, 1892, pp. 149, 164, 

 165), the conclusion is omitted : " these experiments show 

 that, with a few exceptions, the caterpillar of the magpie 

 moth is distasteful to animals." Although a marmoset 

 " ate one up cprite greedily," the behaviour of two Cehns 

 monkeys and a Gcrroirithccns callitrichus, as described by 

 Mr. Beddard, is most suggestive of the errors likely to 

 arise from a too-exclusive study of insectivorous animals 

 able in confinement to eat but little, or nothing at all, 

 of a food they would obtain in the wild state in plenty 

 and variety. These monkeys " sucked at the caterpillar 

 and threw away the skin after the contents had been 

 entirely extracted ; they paused every now and again to 

 sniff suspiciously at the caterpillar, but nevertheless they 

 steadily persevered in munching it." Mr. Beddard's 

 account of the behaviour of non-European birtls entirely 

 confirms the conchisions derived from a study of European 

 insect-eaters. It is probably safe to conclude that the 

 species had never seen the larva before, and it is not 

 surprising that many of them should peck at it. But 

 although from Mr. Beddard's statement {loc. ell. p. 149) it is 

 clear that over a dozen species were experimented upon, 

 the only bird which certainly swallowed the larva was a 

 large ground cuckoo (Carjwocri/.c radial us). The author 



* I am now glad to lie able to add the evidence lliat a sparrow in 

 the wild state lejected this niotli after capturing it. The observation 

 was made by my friend Mr. G. ('. Grilliths, F.E.S., of Clifton, Bristol, a 

 natiualist of great experience and powers of ol)servatioii. Mr. Oritiiths 

 writes as follows:—"! was .standing on June 30, IJJOO, among tlie 

 trees on ('lifton Down at mid-day, when a specimen of ^-1. (jroii.i}d(ifiata 

 flew out from a wych-elm and passed slowly across over a gravel 

 path. A si)arrow darted after it ami bit olt all its wings, but held 

 its body scarcely an instant, dropping it upon the path, where I 

 picked it up — ^a very satisfactory proof of its dislastefulness." 



