Physiology and Ecology of Cuticle Colour in Insects

Abstract

I AM pleased that my article should have aroused the interest of such a well–known authority on adaptative coloration as Prof. G. D. Hale Carpenter. Before answering in detail, I should like to deal with his first general protest. He objects to the word “frequently” in formulating a rule and calls this a “vague” statement. It is interesting in this context to quote from a letter which I received from Dr. B.P. Uvarov, of the Imperial Institute of Entomology, which he kindly permits me to use: criticizing the wording of these same rules he writes: “The dogmatic character of your rules … is the first weakness of your paper.” So I think I have on the whole kept well between extremes such as formulating rigid laws or merely making “suggestions for observation” as suggested in the letter quoted above.