Ill] OLD-WORLD MIMICS 31 



Danaids, but it presents features of such peculiar 

 interest that it must be considered in more detail. 

 Papilio dardanus in its various sub-races is spread over 

 nearly all the African continent south of the Sahara. 

 Over all this area the male, save for relatively small 

 differences, remains unchanged — a lemon-yellow insect, 

 tailed, and with black markings on fore and hind wings 

 (PL VIII, fig. 1). The female, however, exhibits an 

 extraordinary range of variation. In South Africa she 

 appears in three guises, (1) the cenea form resembling 

 Amauris echeria, (2) the hippocoon form like Amauris 

 niavius, and (3) the trophonius form which is a 

 close mimic of the common Danais chrysippusK 

 Except that cenea does not occur on the West Coast 

 these three forms of female are found over almost all the 

 great continental range of dardanus and its geographical 

 races. Northwards in the latitude of Victoria Nyanza 

 occurs a distinct form of female, planemoides, which 

 bears a remarkable resemblance to the common and 

 distasteful Planeina poggei, and is found only where 

 the latter is abundant. All of these four forms are 

 close mimics of a common Danaine or Acraeine model. 

 Other forms of female, however, are known, of which 

 two, dionysus and trimeni, are sufficiently distinct and 

 constant to have acquired special names. Dionysus 

 may be said to unite the fore wing of the hippocoon 

 form with the hind wing of the trophonius form, except 

 that the colour of the last part is yellow instead of 



^ Corresponding to the dorippus form of D. chrysippus (cf. PI. IX) 

 there is a rare fonn of trophonius known as dorippoides. 



