I have already alluded to a case of this among the Hawk-moths, in a species which, feeding on euphorbia, with its bitter milky juice, is very distasteful to birds, and is thus actually protected by its bold and striking colors. The spots on our Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar do not admit of this explanation, because the insect is quite good to eat-I mean, for birds. We must, therefore, if possible, account for these spots in some other way.
There can, I think, be little doubt that Weissmann is right when he suggests that the eye-spots actually protect the caterpillar, by frightening its foes.
Every one must have observed that these large caterpillars-as, for instance, that of the small Elephant Hawk-moth (Fig. 10)-have a sort of uncanny poisonous appearance; that they suggest a small thick snake or other evil beast, and the so-called "eyes" do much to increase the deception.
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