Some observations, however, of Guy Marshall on the inedibility of certain birds suggest that the resemblance between cuckoos a'nd hawks on the one hand and cuckoos and drongos on the other may be susceptible of another explanation in full agreement with the theory of mimicry as propounded by Bates.
In the majority of cases both model and mimic belong alike to the Lepidoptera, and it is often uncertain whether both are inedible (Mullerian mimicry) or whether inedibility is the attribute only of the model (Batesian mimicry).
Ladybirds are often brightly marked with spots and dashes, their coloration being commonly regarded as an advertisement of inedibility.