Ill 
PROTECTIVE RESEMBLANCES AMONG ANIMALS 
85 
of larvae which were greedily eaten, hut they were in every 
case rejected apparently unnoticed, and were left to crawl 
about till they died. 
The next set of observations were on the dull-coloured 
and protected larvae, and the results of numerous experiments 
are thus summarised by Mr. Weir. “ All caterpillars whose 
habits are nocturnal, which are dull -coloured, with fleshy 
bodies and smooth skins, are eaten with the greatest avidity. 
Every species of green caterpillar is also much relished. All 
Geometrse, whose larvae resemble twigs as they stand out 
from the plant on their anal prolegs, are invariably eaten.” 
At the same meeting Mr. A. G. Butler, of the British 
Museum, communicated the results of his observations with 
lizards, frogs, and spiders, which strikingly corroborate those 
of Mr. Weir. Three green lizards (Lacerta viridis), which he 
kept for several years, were very voracious, eating all kinds 
of food, from a lemon cheesecake to a spider, and devouring 
flies, caterpillars, and humble bees; yet there were some 
caterpillars and moths which they would seize only to drop 
immediately. Among these the principal were the caterpillar 
of the Magpie moth (Abraxas grossulariata) and the perfect 
six spot Burnet moth (Anthrocera filipendulae). These would 
be first seized but invariably dropped in disgust, and after- 
wards left unmolested. Subsequently frogs were kept and 
fed with caterpillars from the garden, but two of these — that 
of the before-mentioned Magpie moth, and that of the Y. 
moth (Halia wavaria), which is green with conspicuous white 
or yellow stripes and black spots — were constantly rejected. 
When these species were first offered, the frogs sprang at 
them eagerly and licked them into their mouths ; no sooner, 
however, had they done so than they seemed to be aware of 
the mistake that they had made, and sat with gaping mouths, 
rolling their tongues about until they had got quit of the 
nauseous morsels. 
With spiders the same thing occurred. These two cater- 
pillars were repeatedly put into the webs both of the 
geometrical and hunting spiders (Epeira diadema and Lyeosa 
sp.), but in the former case they were cut out and allowed to 
drop ; in the latter, after disappearing in the jaws of their 
captor down his dark silken funnel, they invariably reappeared, 
