Wild Birds and Distasteful Insect Larvæ

Abstract

IN NATURE of July 24 is a letter from Dr. Walter E. Collinge entitled “Wild Birds and Distasteful Insect Larvæ.“ This letter starts with a statement with regard to the distasteful qualities of the larva and imago of the currant moth (Abraxas grossulariata, Steph.), an insect which, of all others, has probably been studied most in this connection. So long ago as 1889 Prof. E. B. Poulton, in his classic work on “The Colours of Animals,” states (p. 169):—“All observers agree that birds, lizards, frogs, and spiders either refuse this species altogether, or exhibit signs of the most intense disgust after tasting it.”