RESEMBLANCES AMONG ANIMALS. 59 



because the butterfly always rests with his wings raised 

 so as to conceal the dangerous brilliancy of his upper 

 surface. It is probable that if we watched their habits 

 sufficiently we should find the under surface of the 

 wings of butterflies very frequently imitative and pro- 

 tective. Mr. T. W. Wood has pointed out that the 

 little orange-tip butterfly often rests in the evening on 

 the green and white flower heads of an umbelliferous 

 plant, and that when observed in this position the beau- 

 tiful green and white mottling of the under surface 

 completely assimilates with the flower heads and ren- 

 ders the creature very difficult to be seen. It is pro- 

 bable that the rich dark colouring of the under side of 

 our peacock, tortoiseshell, and red-admiral butterflies 

 answers a similar purpose. 



Two curious South American butterflies that always 

 settle on the trunks of trees (Gynecia clirce and Calli- 

 zona acesta) have the under surface curiously striped 

 and mottled, and when viewed obliquely must closely 

 assimilate with the appearance of the furrowed bark 

 of many kinds of trees. But the most wonderful 

 and undoubted case of protective resemblance in a 

 butterfly which I have ever seen, is that of the 

 common Indian Kallima inachis, and its Malayan 

 ally, Kallima paralekta. The upper surface of these 

 insects is very striking and showy, as they are of 

 a large size, and are adorned with a broad band of 

 rich orange on a deep bluish ground. The under 

 side is very variable in colour, so that out of fifty 

 specimens no two can be found exactly alike, but 



