Abstract
Summary.Evidence of attacks upon butterflies by birds is provided by the imprint of the beak upon the wings. Comparison is made between the frequency of such beak‐marks in butterflies which have the characters of relatively distasteful species and in others not so characterized. Over 14,000 specimens belonging to three different groups were examined for the purpose, and the difference in frequency of beak‐marks was found to be immensely significant statistically. The marks are ten times more frequent in the more “distasteful” species. In addition, 567 models and 341 mimics, forming several African mimicry associations, showed that there is a significant difference between them in frequency of beak‐marks in favour of the models. These facts are interpreted as evidence of the greater destruction of species not furnished with aposematic characters, which, when attacked, do not escape like the tougher, more distasteful species.
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