Alfred Russel Wallace : Alfred Wallace : A. R. Wallace :
Russel Wallace : Alfred Russell Wallace (sic)
Discussion of a Paper on the Protective Adaptations
of Caterpillars (S143b: 1869)
Editor Charles H. Smith's Note: Third party rendering of words Wallace offered in discussion of
a paper on the protective adaptations of caterpillars by J. Jenner Weir, read at the
Entomological Society of London meeting of 1 March 1869. Wallace's remarks (along with
others') were introduced on the same page as follows: "Mr. Weir's experiments were suggested
by the remarks of Mr. Alfred R. Wallace, reported in Proc. Ent. Soc. 1867, p. lxxx.: the
conclusions at which he arrived were, that, as a rule, hairy and spinous larvæ were rejected by
birds (unless the cuckoo were an exception); but he doubted whether the mechanical difficulty of
swallowing them was the cause of their rejection, and rather thought that the hairs were the
concomitant of a disagreeable quality of which they acted as an indicator; that bright and gaily-coloured larvæ were, as a rule, refused; but that smooth larvæ of a greenish or dull brown
colour, such as are for the most part nocturnal in their habits, and those which simulate the
leaves or twigs of trees upon which they live, were eaten with avidity." The transcription below is
taken from a reprinting that appeared on page 1648 of the Zoologist issue of April 1869. To link
directly to this page, connect with: http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/S143B.htm
[[p. 1648]] Mr. Alfred R. Wallace was pleased to find that the observations of Mr. Weir went
so far to support the theory which, reasoning entirely from the analogy of what had been
observed in the Heliconiidæ, he had ventured to suggest in answer to a question of Mr. Darwin's.
He thought there was now a solid foundation of fact for the hypothesis that the bright colour of
larvæ was protective, and was (as it were) a flag hung out to warn off their enemies. Doubtless
every detail either of form or colour had its object and bearing upon the history of the creature. It
was not necessary that the law should be absolute or the rule universal; he did not expect to find,
on the contrary he should have been surprised if it had been found, that all brightly coloured
larvæ were peculiarly protected, or that the bright colour of any particular larva protected it from
all enemies; if it thereby obtained protection from a single enemy, if it was left exposed to the
attack of but one enemy less than its neighbours, to that extent at least the colour gave it an
advantage; the theory of protective warning supplied the reason for, and afforded a rational
explanation of, the gay colouring, which in the case of larvæ could not be accounted for by
sexual selection.
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