288 The Naturalist in La Plata. 



preference ; but in a vast majority of species the male 

 takes the female he finds, or that he is able to win 

 from other competitors ; and if we go to the reptile 

 class we find that in the ophidian order, which 

 excels in variety and richness of colour, there is no 

 such thing as preferential mating ; and if we go to 

 the insect class, we find that in butterflies, which 

 surpass all creatures in their glorious beauty, the 

 female gives herself up to the embrace of the first 

 male that appears, or else is captured by the 

 strongest male, just as she might be by a mantis or 

 some other rapacious insect. 



