142 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
colour, and in the second or diverging form it was ochreous-brown, or in some 
specimens whitish ochreous. 
Sir John Lubbock read a paper “On the Colouring of British Cater- 
pillars.” Starting from the principles laid down by Darwin, Wallace, and 
others, that dull-coloured, green, and smooth-skinned caterpillars are eaten 
by birds, &c., while spiny, hairy, and brightly-coloured species are rejected, 
the author proceeded to show by a statistical method of tabulation that no 
hairy caterpillars are green, while, on the other hand, a large majority of 
black and brightly-coloured caterpillars are hairy. 
Mr. Jenner Weir expressed his warm approval of the method by which 
Sir John Lubbock had treated the subject, and remarked that the results 
obtained forcibly illustrated the antagonism between green coloration and 
hairy protection. He further stated that during the past summer he had 
seen the larve of Huchelia Jacobeew in great profusion on Senecio, which 
plant had been completely stripped of its leaves over a large area of the 
New Forest. The great abundance of this caterpillar he regarded as a 
natural experiment on a large scale illustrating the truth of the doctrine 
advocated. 
Mr. J. W. Douglas asked whether the bright colours of the caterpillars 
actually frightened away birds. He remarked that it was well known that 
the Shrikes impaled brightly-coloured and hairy insects, such as bees. 
Sir John Lubbock replied that the bright coloration or hairy covering of a 
caterpillar acted simply as a warning that the species was inedible. It was 
clearly an advantage to a distasteful species to be recognized as such before 
being pecked at by a bird, and not after being seized, in which case the 
larva, although perhaps not killed at the time, would in all probability 
ultimately die of the wounds inflicted. Thus by the action of Natural 
Selection had bright colours and hairs become associated with distasteful 
qualities. 
Mr. M‘Lachlan stated that in 1865 (Trans. Ent. Soc., ser. 3, vol. ii.) he 
had called attention to the fact that some flower-frequenting caterpillars 
were of the same colours as the flowers on which they fed. He remarked 
that this was especially the case with the genus Eupithecia. Mr. M‘Lachlan 
also called attention to the fact that the larve of many Sphingide, such as 
Acherontia Atropos were known to present two distinct forms or coloured 
varieties. 
Mr. Butler remarked that he could fully endorse Sir John Lubbock’s 
view of the function of the oblique stripes on the sides of Sphina larve— 
that these markings were intended to represent the shadow-lines cast by 
leaves. He mentioned that he had recently had an opportunity of ob- 
serving Sphinaw ligustri under conditions most favourable to this deception. 
Mr. Butler further remarked that many of the exotic larve belonging to the 
genera Sphina and Smerinthus were dimorphic. With reference to colour 
