CHAPTER VIII 

 MIMICRY 



THE subject of this chapter is a theme around which 

 so much controversy has raged that echoes of the clash 

 and clang of argument have penetrated beyond scien- 

 tific circles. This being so, it is unnecessary for me to 

 do more than give the briefest possible account of 

 what mimicry amongst animals really means. 



In 1866 H. W. Bates enunciated his celebrated theory. 

 From .a study of the butterflies of the Amazon Valley, 

 he noticed that some comparatively rare species resem- 

 bled in a very exact manner certain dominant con- 

 spicuous species belonging to families totally different 

 from those to which the " imitating " species belonged ; 

 these resemblances could not be due to relationship : 

 to what, then, were they due ? Bates supposed that 

 the conspicuous " imitated " species possessed nauseous 

 properties which rendered them distasteful to birds and 

 other enemies, and that the " imitating " species, by 

 their deceptive resemblance to the nauseous species, 

 escaped the attacks of enemies, although they might 

 be themselves quite palatable. This was the theory in 

 its original simplicity ; elaborations were soon intro- 

 duced. Fritz Miiller, a German naturalist living in 



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