Production of Mimetic Resemblances among Butterflies. \ 343 



starts were especially active in their attacks. On 

 the other hand Arctia caja was never touched : C. 

 Frings, " Soc. Ent. Zurich," 1900. p. 76 (Switzerland). 

 — (e) " About fifteen years ago I bred numbers of 

 Vanessa io and urticae every summer ; I released 

 many of the thousand specimens of butterflies that 

 I obtained. Every summer I began by letting the 

 insects fly out of the window of my work-room. But 

 very soon this was noticed by the birds in the garden 

 which surrounds the Institute, and then a redstart 

 used generally to station itself on a neighbouring 

 bush or tree and carry off most of the butterflies 

 which were released. I often saw the bird fly quite 

 close to the open window, seize a butterfly, turn quickly 

 round and fly away again. Then it would tear otf 

 the wings and one would find afterwards many wings 

 of V. io and urticae lying on the ground. ... In dull 

 weather most of the butterflies did not fly away, but 

 remained sitting on the window-ledge. Then the 

 bird {Rutieilla -phoenicura or tithys) would come 

 right up to the ledge. .' . . My assistant Dr. Schleiss 

 once released, instead of myself, a number of urticae 

 from the window. The redstart appeared immedi- 

 ately, and in a short time he saw lying on the garden 

 path about thirty wings of Van. urticae " (Freiburg 

 in Breisgau) : Prof. August Weismann (in a letter to 

 Prof E. B. Poulton, dated 14, ii, 1909). 



11. Accentor ^nodularis, L. (Hedge Sparrow). " On the 



May 15 [1907] I saw a hedge sparrow capture a 

 freshly emerged Pieris raimc ^ and devour it. The 

 specimen was insufficiently dried to be strong on the 

 wing, and was captured whilst indulging in a first 

 unsteady flight. The occurrence took place at Broad- 

 stone, Dorset " : W. Parkinson Curtis (letter to Prof. 

 Poulton, dated 29, v, '07). 



12. Erithacus ruhecula, L. (Robin), (a) "I can certify to 



the fact of robins chasing and catching large white 

 butterflies on the wing and swallowing them whole" : 

 H. Fox, "Nature," Ixi, 1899, p. 152 (England).— (6) " I 

 saw a male robin once strike at Pyrameis atalanta, 

 but, on the butterfly turning, he made no further 

 attempt" : C. Floersheim, "Ent. Record," 1906, p. 36. 

 — (c) " I had [September 1900] a number of Colias 

 edusa ^ sleeved in a small hand-frame with clover to 



