In the Diptera, or flies, Wallace records one interesting case of sexual
difference in the genus Elaphomyia of New Guinea, in which the males are
furnished with horns, which the females lack. Darwin writes:—
“The horns spring from beneath the eyes, and curiously resemble those of
a stag, being either branched or palmated. In one of the species, they
equal the whole body in length. They might be thought to be adapted for
fighting, but as in one species they are of a beautiful pink color,
edged with black, with a pale central stripe, and as these insects have
altogether a very elegant appearance, it is perhaps more probable that
they serve as ornaments.”
Presumably, therefore, Darwin means these colored horns have been
acquired by sexual selection.
In the Hemiptera, or bugs, both sexes of some species are “beautifully
colored,” and as the members of the group are often unpalatable to other
animals, the color in this case is supposed to act as a warning signal.
In other cases it is stated, however, that “a small pink and green
species” could hardly be distinguished from the buds on the trunks of
the lime trees which this insect frequents. In this case the color
appears “to be directly protective.” Thus without any means of forming a
correct judgment, the color of one animal is supposed to be the result
of natural selection, since it resembles its surroundings, but of sexual
selection if the color is present or more pronounced in one sex. Where
neither view can easily be applied, the color is ascribed in a general
way to the nature of the organism.
In respect to the group of Hymenoptera, or bees, Darwin records the
following cases:—
“In this order slight differences in color, according to sex, are
common, but conspicuous differences are rare except in the family of
bees; yet both sexes of certain groups are so brilliantly colored—for
instance in Chrysis, in which vermilion and metallic greens prevail—that
we are tempted to attribute the result to sexual selection. In the
Ichneumonidæ, according to Mr. Walsh, the males are almost universally
lighter-colored than the females. On the other hand, in the
Tenthredinidæ the males are generally darker than the females. In the
Siricidæ the sexes frequently differ; thus the male of _Sirex juvencus_
is banded with orange, whilst the female is dark purple; but it is
difficult to say which sex is the more ornamented.”
In other families of bees, differences in the color of the sexes have
been recorded, and since the males have been seen fighting for the
possession(?) of the females, and since bees are known to recognize
differences in color, Darwin believes that:—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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