V 
COLOURS OF ANIMALS 
349 
1. Protective colours. 
Animals ■ 
Plants 
2. Warning colours. -| 
3. Sexual colours. 
4. Normal colours. 1 
5. Attractive colours. 
a. Of creatures specially protected. 
b. Of defenceless creatures, mimicking a. 
It is now proposed, firstly, to point out the nature of the 
phenomena presented under each of these heads; then to 
explain the general laws of the production of colour in 
nature; and, lastly, to show how far the varied phenomena 
of animal coloration can be explained by means of those 
laws, acting in conjunction with the laws of evolution and 
natural selection. 
Protective Colours 
The nature of the two first groups, protective and warn- 
ing colours, has been so fully detailed and illustrated in my 
chapter on “Mimicry and other Protective Resemblances 
among Animals,” that very little need be added here except 
a few words of general explanation. Protective colours are 
exceedingly prevalent in nature, comprising those of all the 
white arctic animals, the sandy -coloured desert forms, and 
the green birds and insects of tropical forests. It also com- 
prises thousands of cases of special resemblance — of birds to 
the surroundings of their nests, and especially of insects to 
the bark, leaves, flowers, or soil, on or amid which they 
dwell. Mammalia, fishes, and reptiles, as well as mollusca 
and other marine invertebrates, present similar phenomena ; 
and the more the habits of animals are investigated, the more 
numerous are found to be the cases in which their colours 
tend to conceal them, either from their enemies or from the 
creatures they prey upon. One of the last- observed and 
most curious of these protective resemblances has been com- 
municated to me by Sir Charles Dilke. He was shown in 
Java a pink-coloured Mantis which, when at rest, exactly 
resembled a pink orchis-flower. The mantis is a carnivorous 
insect which lies in wait for its prey ; and, by its resemblance 
to a flower, the insects it feeds on would be actually attracted 
towards it. This one is said to feed especially on butter- 
1 Many, or perhaps all, of these are now believed to he diversely coloured 
for purposes of recognition. See Darwinism, p. 217. 
