The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-08-22
MIAIICRY AMONG ANIMALS.
Mimicry and other Protective Resem-
blRncea Among Animals.

mimicry are most numerous and most strlo-
ing, an account of some of the more prominent
examples in this group will first be given.
There is in South America an extensive family
OF these insects, the HelicOnide, which are in
many respects very remarkable. They are so
abundant and characteristic in all the woody
portions of the American tropics, that III
almost every locality they will be seen more
frequently than any other butterflies iney
are distinguished by very elongate wings,
body, and antenn@, and are exceedingly Oeau
tiful and varied in their oolOrs; spo1s anu
patches of yellow red or pure whlte upon
black, blue, or brown ground, Delng S mVs'
general. They frequent the loresIs Cniely'
and all fv slowly and weakly; yet although
tbev are so conspicuous, aud could certainly
he caught by insectivOr0us birds more easily
man almost any other insects, their great
abundance all over the wide region they in
habit shows that they are not so prosecuted.
II is to be especially remarked also that they
possess no adaptive coloring to protect them
during repose, for the under side of their wings
presents the same, or at least an equally cou-
spicuous, coloring as the upper side; and they
may be observed after sunset suspended at the
end of twigs and leaves where they have taken
up their station for the night, fully exposed to
the attacks of enemies, if they have any.
These beautiful insects possess, however, a
strong pungent semi-arOmatc or medicinal
OdOr which seems to pervade all the juices OF
their system When the entomolOgist
squeezes the breast of one of them between
his fingers to kill it, yellow liquid exudes
which stains the skin, and the smell of which
can only be got rid of by time and repeated
washings. Here we have probably the cause
of their immunity from attack, since there is
great deal of evidence to show that certain
insects are so disgusting to birds that they
will under no circumstances touch them.
Mr.. Stanton has observed that brood of
young turkeys which greedily eat up all the
worthless moths he had amassed in nights
''sugaring' one after another seized and
rejected single white moth which happened
to beamOng them. Young pheasants and par
tridges which eat many kinds of caterpillars
seem to have an absolute dread of that of the
common currant moth, which they will never
touch, and tomtits, as well as other small
birds, appear never to eat the same species.
In the case of the HelicOnide, however, we
have some direct evidence to the same effect.
In the Brazilian forests there are great num-
bers of insectivorous birds-as iucamars, tro-
gons, and putf-brds-which catch insects
on the wing, and that they destroy many
butterflies is indicated by the fact that the
wings of these insects are often found on
the ground where their bodies have been
devoured. But among these there are no
wings of Heliconid@, while those of the
large snowy Nymphalide, which have a
much swifter flight, are often met with.
Again. a gentleman who has recently returned
from Brazil, stated at meeting of the Ento-
mological Society that he once observed a pair
of puf-birds catching butterflies, which they
brought to their nest to feed their young; yet
during half an hour they never brought one of
the HelicOnida, which were flying lazily about
in great numbers, and which they could have
captured more easily than any other. 1t was
this circumstance that led Mr.. Bolt to observe
then so long, as he could not under
stand why the most common insects should be
altogether passed by. Mr.. Bates also tells us
al ha fhaYn p1n1ae l,xr1 o,.l,
or predacious flies, which often pounce on other
butterflies.
If therefore, we accept it as highly pro-
bable (if not prOved) that the Heconida
are very greatly protected from attack by
their peculiar odOr and taste. we find il
much more easy to understand their chief
characteristics - their great abundance,
their slow flight, their gaudy colors, aud
the entire absence of protective tints on their
under surfaces. This property places them
somewhat in the position of those curious
Wlngless birds of oceanic islands, the dodo,
the apteryx, and the mOas, which are with
great reason supposed to have lost the power
OF flight on account of the absence of carnivo-
rous quadrupeds. Our butterflies have been
protected in different way, but quite as effec-
tually; and the result has been that as there
has been nothing to escape from, there
has been no wedding out of slow flyers,
and as there has been nothing to hide
from, there has been no determination
OF the bright-colored varieties, and no
reservation of such as tended to assmilate with
surrounding objects
Now let us consider how this kind of pro-
lection must act. Tropical insectivorous birds
very frequently sit on dead branches of a lofty
tree, or on those which overhang forest paths,
gazing intently around, and darting off at in
tervals to seize an insect at a considerable dis
tanoe, which they generally return to their
station to devour. If a bird began by cap
turing the slow-hying, conspicuous Heliconide,
and found them always so disagreeable that
he could not eat them, he would, after very
lew trials, leave off catching them at all;
ana their whole appearance, form, color
ing, and mode of flight is so peculiar that
there can be little doubt birds would soon
learn to distinguish them at long distance.
ana never waste any time in pursuit of
them. Under these circumstances it is evil
e Gent that any other butterfly of group which
pnos were accustomed to devour, would be
alIn0st equally we'll protected by closely re-
selnpiy hehconia externally, as if it acquired
1lso the olsagreeable odor; always supposing
tlat Ihere were only few of them among great
number OF the Heliconias If the birds Gould
tTua uist gulsh the two kinds externally, and
s.der sne1e were on the average only one eatable
slnong llty uneatable, they would soon give
seeking for the eatable ones. even if thew
1hew Them to exist. If, on the other hand
any Parncular butterfly of an eatable groun
aequlIeo the disagreeable taste of the Helioo
mas Wnlle 1t retained the characteristic form
ana cOloring of its own group this would he