318 THE PLACE OF MIMICRY 



to other birds. Nothing can be further from the truth 

 than Haase's contention that the species with Warning 

 or Aposematic Colours are absolutely ' immune ' from 

 the attacks of all enemies, including parasites. 1 There 

 is indeed much evidence to show that such species are 

 especially liable to destruction by these latter foes. 2 

 Many groups of predaceous insects also appear especially 

 to attack the conspicuous, easily-captured prey provided 

 by the groups with Warning Colours. This has been 

 observed in the case of the predaceous Asilid flies, Dragon- 

 flies, Hemiptera, Mantidae and Locustidae. 3 



4. Transition from Cryptic to Aposematic Defence. — 

 Although these two methods of protection are as a rule 

 sharply contrasted, intermediate examples are common, 

 and even more numerous are the cases in which an 

 individual in the course of its life-history or by an 

 instantaneous change of attitude passes from the one 

 category into the other. 



The larvae of Cucullia verbasci (the Mullein Shark 

 Moth) are good intermediate examples. Their colour- 

 ing harmonizes well with the flowering spike of the 

 Mullein, and when disturbed their instant fall and active 

 wriggling movements, tending to concealment among 

 lumps of earth, roots of grasses, &c, belong to the cate» 

 gory of Cryptic defence. On the other hand, they are 

 rendered conspicuous by gregarious habits, while the large 

 larvae are very visible upon the broad leaves of the food- 

 plant. Furthermore, experiment shows the existence of 

 distasteful qualities. 4 There is also a considerable element 

 of concealment in the resemblance of the orange bands 

 of the larva of Euchelia jacobaeae (the Cinnabar Moth) to 

 the flowers of its food-plant. I was formerly disposed 

 to regard these two species as examples of recent transi- 

 tion from a Cryptic to an Aposematic mode of defence. 6 

 I should now be more inclined to explain the Cryptic 



1 Researches on Mimicry, part ii, Stuttgart, 1896, English translation. 

 8 Trans. Ent Soc, Lond., 1902, p. 337. 



3 Trans. Ent. Soc, Lond., 1906, p. 323. 



4 Proc. ZooLSoc, Lond., 1887, pp. 202, 203, 238. 



5 Proc. Zool. Soc, Lond., 1887, p. 238. 



