444 



THE RESLXTS OF EVOLUTION 



their enemies of danger ahead. The striking colors of 

 certain butterflies, bugs, beetles, skunks and other ani- 

 mals with unpleasant odor or taste, bring sharply to the 

 attention of some would-be assailant the penalty of an 

 attack. It may indeed happen that an enemy may de- 

 stroy a warningly colored animal, but it is also probable, 

 as has been proven for a considerable number of species, 

 that it will rarely repeat the operation. The destruction 

 of a few individuals thus insures the race against con- 

 tinued attacks and enables it to persist. 



Mimicry. — If warning coloration is a valuable adapta- 

 tion to one species of animal, it must follow that another 



Fio. 123. — Mimicry. A, B, bumble-bee and wasp, mimicked by 

 flies. 



one which resembles it is likewise benefited. At least 

 this is the general explanation of those cases where a 

 harmless and inoffensive species more or less closely 

 (hiplicates a nauseous one. Instances of this type of pro- 

 tective coloration are numerous among insects, and are 

 also known to occur in several other groups. For ex- 

 ample, there are several species of flies which so closely 

 resemble honey-bees or bumble-bees that it requires close 

 scrutiny to detect the fraud (Fig. 123). Some of the 



