[150] [Messrs. Weir and Butler inform me that they have not experimented with Sphinx-larvæ. R.M.]
[151] [It appears that the nauseous character of these last butterflies is to a certain extent retained after death, as I found that in an old collection which had been destroyed by mites, the least mutilated specimens were species of Danais and Euplæa, genera which are known to be distasteful when living, and to serve as models for mimicry. See Proc. Ent. Soc. 1877, p. xii. R.M.]
[152] [This bears out the view expressed in a previous note [129], p. [290], that the grotesque attitude and caudal tentacles are more for protection against ichneumons than against larger foes. R.M.]
[153] These experiments, as already mentioned above, were not made with the common German lizard (Lacerta Stirpium), but with the large South European Lacerta Viridis.
[154] Thus, Boisduval states of this caterpillar, which in Provence lives on Euphorbia esula and allied species:—“Its resemblance to a serpent, and its brilliant colour, permit of its being easily discovered.” This was written in 1843, long before natural selection was thought of.
[155] Or some other extinct analogously-marked species.
[156] [See Darwin’s remarks on the struggle for life being most severe between individuals and varieties of the same species “Origin of Species,” 6th ed. p. 59. R.M.]
[157] [Compare this with Darwin’s remarks on “analogous variations,” “Origin of Species,” 6th ed., p. 125. R.M.]
[158] “Zoologische Studien auf Capri. II. Lacerta muralis cærula, ein Beitrag zur Darwin’schen Lehre.” Leipzig, 1874. [The subject of colour-variation in lizards has been much discussed in “Nature” since the publication of the above mentioned essay; see vol. xix., pp. 4, 53, 97, and 122, and vol. xx., pp. 290 and 480. R M.]
[159] “Über die Berechtigung der Darwin’schen Theorie.” Leipzig, 1868. See also the previous essay “On the Seasonal Dimorphism of Butterflies,” pp. [112–116].