114 THE KNTOMOLOGIST's RECORD. 



of any locality. In order to complete this theory it was necessary to 

 test its application in other parts of the world. 



In the East the butterflies which take the place of the four above- 

 named sub-families belong almost exclusively to the Danainae, the 

 Acraeinac being represented by very few species. The Danainae are, 

 however, extremely rich in species, and F. Moore first pointed out in 

 Pvoc. Zool. Hoc. Lond., 1883, p. 201, that there is the same relationship 

 between the species of this dominant group that obtains between those 

 of tropical America. Not only do Danainae of very different genera 

 closely resemble each other, but there is often a strong likeness be- 

 tween the species belonging to the two chief divisions of the sub- 

 family — the Ihmaina and Juiplocina. As in America, these resem- 

 blances are always between the species of the same locality. 



While, however, Miiller's theory received full confirmation from 

 the facts observed in India and the tropical East generally, no attempt 

 has been made until now to apply it to the African lepidoptcrous 

 fauna. I have therefore examined this fauna from the Miillerian 

 standpoint, and find that in it, too, the same relationships can be 

 traced. 



The dominant distasteful groups of Africa are the Acraeinoe, 

 which have their metropolis here, and the Danainae. The latter are 

 chiefly represented by the species of the peculiar African genus 

 Amaiois, and by the abundant and wide-spread Danais (Lwinas) 

 chriidppm. I first looked for evidence of convergence between the 

 Acraeinac and (Livinas) cJiri/.v'ppm, and soon found what appeared to 

 be evident traces of it. Such species as Planonci esebria (certain forms 

 of), Acraea petraea (female), A. oppidia, and, above all, A. encedon 

 {Ij/cia) bear a considerable resemblance to L. chnjsippiiR, inasmuch as 

 all of them possess a dark tip to the fore-wing crossed by a white bar, 

 as in the Danaine butterfly. Looking at the near allies of these 

 species, and at the Acraeinac as a whole, we may feel confident that 

 this black-and-white tip is not an ancestral character of the group, but 

 a comparatively recent modification. Again, the fact that this cha- 

 racter is sometimes more strongly developed in, and sometimes con- 

 fined to, the female sex agrees with the corresponding relationships in 

 other parts of the world, and furthermore supports the conclusion as 

 to the recent acquisition of the markings. 



Convergence between the Acraeinae and Danainae of the genus 

 Anmuris was next looked for and many examples found. Thus Acraea 

 johnHtoni, of East Central Africa, certainly suggests the appearance of 

 one of the ccJieria group, such as A. hannin;itonii, found in the same 

 locality ; while in West Africa Acraea hjcoa resembles the black-and- 

 white Amanrifi da)iincle>i and A. ei/ialea. Similar resemblances in the 

 West are to be seen between the large black-and-white females of the 

 numerous species of the Acrfeine genus Flaneina and other Acra!as in 

 the same locality, such as A. carmentis (female) and A. jodutta 

 (female), while the species referred to, of both Acrteine genera, bear 

 some considerable resemblance to an abundant West African black- 

 and-white Danaine — ■Amauris niavius. Similar relationships occur in 

 the South-East, where Acr?pas, such as Vlanema exehria (white form of 

 female) and l\a<ianire, bear considerable resemblance to the abundant 

 black-and-white Danaines — Amauris ochlea and A. dtnninicanns. 



It was of great interest to prove that the members of these con- 



