318 MR. 0. F. M. SWYNNERTON ON THE 



crushed well and swallowed without sigu of dislike yesterday's Saturniid moth 

 and after it another Mycalesis campina, and, to my surprise, a Terias, having 

 persistently refused to taste a Mylothris yidei before the last acceptance. 



[Note : " Each Mycalesis in this experiment, as also the Terias, was at once 

 swallowed down, wings and all, without any attempt at preliminary crushing. 

 The experiment ran very quickly in spite of the refusals, and it seemed to me that 

 the bird was in rather a reckless mood, and, starting very hungry, decided each 

 time to swallow the insect and chance the results, though probably already past 

 the sta^e at which it would ordinarily have rejected it. Thus, all that can be said 

 with regard to the Saturniid is that it is less unacceptable than Mylothris yulei 

 and Aletis montev'onis, probably hardly distasteful at all in view of its treatment 

 yesterday by the roller and on the 2nd by the kingfisher." 



It is interesting to let the above note stand, but actually, no doubt, the 

 acceptances of this experiment were excellent and extreme instances of the result 

 of special stimulation by " the preceding offering." However, Terias and 

 M. campina were preferred to M. yulei, and the Mycalesis at any rate to 

 Aletis monteironis.'] 



Exp. 106. — Noveriiber 16. Hungry ; tasted and at once rejected an ant 

 (Myrmicaria eume7ioicles, Gerst.), readily ate a Pajnlio angolanus, tasted and' 

 rejected another ant [Doryhts gerstaeckeri, Emery), ate with apparent relish a 

 Terias, tasted and flung away with marked disgust an Osprynchotus Jlavipes § . 

 I then fed her upon grasshoppers till she persistently refused several favourite 

 species in succession, after which she tasted and rejected (after at first refusing 

 each) Papilio angolanus and Leuceronia thalassina $ , but readily, ate Gatacroptera 

 cloantha, S Arrugia hasuta, and two spp. of moths, Sphingomorpha chlorea and 

 another, two of each, refusing the rest as also Precis cehrene, undoubtedly through 

 sheer repletion. 



[Summary : — 



1. Cat. cloantha (and perhaps, but not certainly, A. hasuta 6 

 and the two moths). 



(2. P. angolanus, Terias, grasshoppers. 

 3. Myrmicaria eumenoides and Borylus gerstaeckeri, also, on 

 manner, Osprynchotus jlavipes $ .] 



Exp. 107. — November 25. Readily ate a Mycalesis campina, three small grass- 

 hoppers, another Myc. campina, three more grasshoppers and a third Myc. 

 campina, three more grasshoppers and a fourth Myc. campina. She then, after 

 yet another three grasshoppers, refused persistently to touch a Mijc. campina, 

 a Neptis agatha, a Papilio angolanus, or a Herpcenia eriphia. 



Ten minutes later she refused for a time but finally accepted and ate a 

 Myc. campina, and, more readily, a Papilio angolanus ; refused, then tasted and 

 rejected a second Myc. campina, but readily ate, after tasting it well, the Herpcenia 

 eriphia ; refused, then tasted very slightly and once more refused a Myc. campina, 

 tasted and rejected a Phymateus viridipes, refused persistently- to touch a portion 

 of its abdomen which I broke off and offered in case the whole insect had been too 



