CHAPTER III 



OLD-WORLD MIMICS 



The earlier naturalists who studied butterflies 

 made use of colour and pattern very largely in arranging 

 and classifying their specimens. Insects shewing the 

 same features in these respects were generally placed 

 together without further question, especially if they 

 were known to come from the same locality. In 

 looking through old collections of butterflies from the 

 tropics it is not infrequent to find that the collector 

 was deceived by a mimetic likeness into placing model 

 and mimic together. During the last century, however, 

 more attention was paid to the anatomy of butterflies, 

 with the result that their classification was placed 

 upon a basis of structure. As in all work of the sort 

 certain features are selected, partly owing to their 

 constancy and partly for their convenience, the insects 

 being arranged according as to whether they present 

 these features or not. Everybody knows that the 

 butterflies as a group are separated from the moths on 

 the ground that their antennae are club shaped at the 

 end, while those of the moth are generally filamentary 

 and taper to a fine point. The butterflies themselves 



