NOTES on MIMICRY AND VARIATION' 



By W. J. Rainbow, F.L S., Entomologist. 



(Frontispiece.) 



Recently there were added to the Australian Museum cabinets 

 specimens of Phcenicops porphyropis, Meyr. & Low., and Milionia 

 queenslandica, Roths. All were obtained from Mr. F. P. Dodd. 

 of Kuranda, N. Queensland. They are particularly interesting 

 from the fact that the former is apparently a mimic of the latter. 



The Skipper, P. porphyropis (Front., fig. 1), has dark fuscous 

 wings, suffused with iridescent purple ; on the forewing there is a 

 moderately broad transverse bright yellow band, the edges of 

 which are irregularly dentate, whilst on the hindwing, at the 

 termen, and just below the apex, there is a rather narrow patch 

 of yellow. Except in point of size there is no apparent difference 

 between the male and female forms, the latter being somewhat 

 the larger of the two. They are really beautiful insects, and 

 although rare in collections, may nevertheless be fairly prevalent 

 iu the deep recesses of the rich tropical jangle of Northern 

 Queensland. 



The moth, M. queenslandica (Front., fig. 2), like the butterfly, 

 has dark fuscous wings. The fore wings have each a broad, trans- 

 verse, bright yellow band, the edges of which are uneven : the 

 hinder angle has a somewhat dusky crimson bar, and this ter- 

 minates in and suffuses the lower extremity of the transverse 

 yellow bar. In some examples the crimson bar is much more 

 vivid than in others. The lower wings are edged and dentated 

 with yellow, and each is further ornamented with a large, irregu- 

 larly-shaped concolourous spot. 



Although obviously distinct from one another, it would never- 

 theless be an exceedingly difficult matter to differentiate between 

 the two when on the wing and in flight. Our Australian Lepi- 

 doptera, although presenting numerous instances of protective 

 colouration, affords very little in the way of true mimicry. For 

 this reason such an instance as the one referred to above is 

 decidedly interesting. 



The genus Hypolimnas, Hiibn.( = Diade7na,Bo\sd.),h apparently, 

 as pointed out by Wallace, of Austro-Malayan origin. Of the 

 fifteen species and their numerous varieties all, with the excep- 



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