KECOGNITIOX-MAliXS 183 



The first great adaptation here, as throughout nature, is 

 to secure conceahnent from their most dangerous enemies, and 

 this is effected by various kinds of protective, deceptive, or 

 -warning coloration which in some form or other pervades the 

 whole order, and forms a most fascinating subject of study. 

 The protective coloration is mostly on the under sides of the 

 wings of butterflies, and on the upper sides of the upper wings 

 of moths, the parts respectively exposed to view when the in- 

 sect is at rest. Great numbers are also deceptively coloured 

 by eye-marks (ocelli), which resemble the eyes of mammals 

 in such a way as to be very striking in the mingled light and 

 gloom of the forest and in the general surroundings of each 

 species. Large groups in all the tropical regions possess warn- 

 ing colours, either very bright and well contrasted, or of sober 

 browns and yellows, and accompanied by such elongated wings, 

 bodies, and antennae, that the facies of the whole group as 

 well as of the individual species soon become known to in- 

 sect-eating creatures. 



Those which are protectively or deceptively coloui-ed on 

 the exposed portions of their wings often exhibit the most 

 brilliant or gaudily contrasted colours elsew^here; but in these 

 cases the flight is very rapid or jerky, and the insects are so 

 continually hidden among the lights and shadows of the forest, 

 that few enemies can capture them. The - great exj)anse of 

 the wings is itself an additional protection by diverting at- 

 tention from the body ; and it has thus become possible, with- 

 out endangering the continuance of the species, to allow the 

 development of that marvellous display of colour, the charm 

 of which can only be fully appreciated by those who have for 

 long periods sought it out in the forest regions of the Amazon, 

 of the Eastern Himalayas, or of the Moluccas and Xew 

 Guinea — the three most productive regions in the world for 

 butterflies (ajiS also for birds) of resplendent hues and in 

 endless variety. 



