170 THE WORLD OF LIFE 



tropical regions possess warning colours, either very bright 

 and well contrasted, or of sober browns and yellows, and 

 accompanied by such elongated wings, bodies, and antennae, 

 that the facies of the whole group as well as of the individual 

 species soon become known to insect-eating creatures. 



Those which are protectively or deceptively coloured on 

 the exposed portions of their wings often exhibit the most 

 brilliant or gaudily contrasted colours elsewhere ; but in 

 these cases the flight is very rapid or jerky, and the insects 

 are so continually hidden among the lights and shadows of 

 the forest, that few enemies can capture them. The great 

 expanse of the wings is itself an additional protection by 

 diverting attention from the body ; and it has thus become 

 possible, without endangering the continuance of the species, 

 to allow the development of that marvellous display of 

 colour, the charm of which can only be fully appreciated by 

 those who have for long periods sought it out in the forest 

 regions of the Amazon, of the Eastern Himalayas, or of the 

 Moluccas and New Guinea — the three most productive 

 regions in the world for butterflies (and also for birds) of 

 resplendent hues and in endless variety. 



A new Argument against Female Choice 



Here again we find another, and I think a very conclusive 

 argument against female choice having had any part in the 

 production of beautiful and varied colours in the males of 

 butterflies, or probably of any insects, since it is clear that 

 the attraction is through another sense than that of sight, 

 and all that vision can do in this direction is to enable the 

 insect to recognise, perhaps at a greater distance, the 

 individuals which are thus attractive. There is much 

 evidence to support this view. H. Miiller, in his Fertilisa- 

 tion of Flowers, states that odour is pre-eminent in attracting 

 insects to flowers, and, next to that, general conspicuousness 

 rather than any special colour or form. And, by his detailed 

 accounts of insects visiting flowers, we find that almost al. 

 the commoner butterflies visit a great variety of honey, 

 bearing flowers without much regard to colour. Thus 

 Argynnis papJiia visited flowers of four different natura 

 orders, whose flowers were white or pale red ; the largi 



