( Ixvii ) 



African Aculeates and their mimics, convey many mistaken 

 impressions. 



It seemed to me that, at the risk of some repetition, it 

 might be of some advantage to bring before the Society these 

 somewhat amended views on the question of Cryptic Coloration 

 and Mimicry in the Coleoptera : I do not go as far in the whole 

 matter as many do ; there are certain naturalists whose 

 theories, ingenious though they may be, are so fantastic that 

 they tend to bring discredit on the whole question in the eyes 

 of those who are inclined to reserve their judgment and to 

 view the general subject with suspicion : one of the chief 

 of these is M. Portschinski, whose papers on " Coloration 

 marquante et Taches ocellees" even Professor Poulton 

 characterises as "remarkable and highly imaginative." It was 

 M. Portschinski who called attention to the fancied resem- 

 blance of the chrysalis of Limenitis jjopuli to a chrysalis which 

 has been pecked by a bird, and is therefore passed over ; this 

 appeai-ed to be rather far-fetched, but is as nothing to his belief 

 that " in the sounds made by certain irritated Mantides, as 

 they display the spots on their raptorial legs, he hears a re- 

 presentation of the rushing sound of a warning liquid 

 forced through a fine aperture : " at the same time, it will be 

 interesting to be able to refer to the detailed account of the 

 works of this well-known Russian entomologist which Pro- 

 fessor Poulton promises to give on a future occasion. 



The theory of Cryptic Coloration and Mimicry as a whole 

 seems to be so well substantiated by an ever-increasing host 

 of indisputable facts that it is hardly necessary to consider at 

 length objections to it as a whole, although over-refinement in 

 individual cases is most strongly to be deprecated. At the 

 same time, I should like to speak briefly on one or two points 

 put forward by Mr. Bateson, a well-known opponent of the 

 theory of Colour-adaptation to Environment, in his well- 

 known book, Materials for the Study of Variation* After 

 pointing out that, as Darwin and others have often shown, 

 the characters Avhich vividly differentiate species are not, as 

 a rule, capital facts in the constitution of vital organs, but 

 rather details which seem useless and trivial, such as patterns 



* Introduction, page xi. 



