The Darwinian theory threw new light on organic colour--The
problem to be solved--The constancy of animal colour indicates
utility--Colour and environment--Arctic animals
white--Exceptions prove the rule--Desert, forest, nocturnal, and
oceanic animals--General theories of animal colour--Variable
protective colouring--Mr. Poulton's experiments--Special or
local colour adaptations--Imitation of particular objects--How
they have been produced--Special protective colouring of
butterflies--Protective resemblance among marine
animals--Protection by terrifying enemies--Alluring
coloration--The coloration of birds' eggs--Colour as a means of
recognition--Summary of the preceding exposition--Influence of
locality or of climate on colour--Concluding remarks



CHAPTER IX

WARNING COLORATION AND MIMICRY


The skunk as an example of warning coloration--Warning colours
among insects--Butterflies--Caterpillars--Mimicry--How mimicry
has been produced--Heliconidae--Perfection of the
imitation--Other cases of mimicry among Lepidoptera--Mimicry
among protected groups--Its explanation--Extension of the
principle--Mimicry in other orders of insects--Mimicry among the
vertebrata--Snakes--The rattlesnake and the cobra--Mimicry among
birds--Objections to the theory of mimicry--Concluding remarks