The Descent of Man

exceeded the females in number; in others the
reverse occurred; and in others the two sexes
were nearly equal. But as in most cases the males
emerge from the cocoons before the females,
they are at the commencement of the breedingseason
practically in excess. Muller also observed
that the relative number of the two sexes in
some species differed much in different localities.
But as H. Muller has himself remarked to
me, these remarks must be received with some
caution, as one sex might more easily escape
observation than the other. Thus his brother
Fritz Muller has noticed in Brazil that the two
sexes of the same species of bee sometimes frequent
different kinds of flowers. With respect
to the Orthoptera, I know hardly anything
about the relative number of the sexes: Korte
(88. 'Die Strich, Zug oder Wanderheuschrecke,'
1828, p. 20.), however, says that out of 500 locusts
which he examined, the males were to the
females as five to six. With the Neuroptera, Mr.
Walsh states that in many, but by no means in