288 
The Naturalist in La Plata. 
preference ; but in a vast majority of species the male 
takes the female he finds, or that he is able to win 
from other competitors ; and if we go to the reptile 
class we find that in the ophidian order, which 
excels in variety and richness of colour, there is no 
such thing as preferential mating ; and if we go to 
the insect class, we find that in butterflies, which 
surpass all creatures in their glorious beauty, the 
female gives herself up to the embrace of the first 
male that appears, or else is captured by the 
strongest male, just as she might be by a mantis or 
some other rapacious insect. 
