150 ANIMAL COLOKATION. 



Earlier Experiments with Wamingly Coloured Insects. 



Now, before these experiments had been made, the brilliant 

 hues of caterpillars — which were useless for protective pur- 

 poses, and could obviously have no sexual meaning— had 

 puzzled Darwin ; he drew the attention of Wallace to the 

 subject, who ventured to predict that gaudily-coloured cater- 

 pillars would prove to possess some unpleasant qualities ren- 

 dering them unfit for food. 



The purpose of the conspicuous coloration is to advertise 

 their inedible qualities. " They require some signal or danger 

 flag which shall serve as a warning to would-be enemies not 

 to attack them, and they have usually obtained this in the 

 form of conspicuous or brilliant coloration, very distinct from 

 the protective tints of the defenceless animals allied to them " 

 (Wallace). This is shown in the case of the Magpie cater- 

 pillar : it has been proved to be uneatable, and it is about as 

 conspicuously-coloured as any caterpillar. 



Experiments have been also made \^ath other caterpillars by 

 the above-named gentlemen and by others, which are carefully 

 tabulated by Mr. Poulton,* so that the results of the inquiries 

 can be seen at a glance. 



The larva of the Cinnabar moth {Euchelia Jacobece) is 

 banded with alternate rings of black and yellow ; it feeds 

 during the day upon ragwort, and is extremely conspicuous. Its 

 conspicuous appearance is largely increased by the fact that it 

 lives in companies. 



Many gregarious caterpillars {e.g., the " Lackey " and the 

 "Buff-tip") possess warning colours, and it has been supposed — 

 the suggestion was originally put forward by Fritz Mliller — that 

 the advantages which accrue to them by the advertisement of 

 their colour are rendered greater by this habit. The mass 



* Proc. Zonl. So., 1887, p. 191 el xeq. 



