1910.1 241 



Nearly half a centiiry ago, and not long after the appearance of the epoch- 

 making memoirs of Bates and Wallace on the subject of mimetic resemblances 

 among Amazonian and Malayan butterflies, the veteran Entomologist Mr. 

 Roland Trimen called attention to the equally striking agreement in colour and 

 marlvings between various South African butterflies of widely diverse groups. 

 As in the course of exjiloration the continent has been opened up, and our 

 knowledge of its varied and extensive insect favma has lieeoine more coinj^lete, 

 fresh examples of mimetic resemblance have been brought to light in rapid 

 succession, imtil Africa may be almost regarded as the classic Land of mimicry 

 among butterflies. Even now nearly every large collection received from the 

 more remote regions of Africa is found to contain one or more new and striking- 

 mimetic forms. Mr. Eltringham's book forms an important landmark in our 

 knowledge of the subject of mimicry in the African Diurnal Lepidoptera, and 

 in this sumptuous vohune he lias brought together a large amount of most 

 interesting material. The imrivalled resources of the Oxford University 

 Musermi, to which some of the most extensive collections of Tropical African 

 butterflies made in recent years have found their way, have been placed at the 

 author's disposal by Professor Poulton, whose assistance in the preparation of 

 the work, with that of Mr. Trimen and others, is gracefully acknowledged by him. 

 The question of mimetic resemblance in butterflies, from the points of view of 

 Bates, Fritz Mxillei", and more recent writers on the subject, is discussed very 

 cleai-ly and pleasantly in the opening chapter, which embodies a brief but 

 useful sketch of the structure and modern classification of these insects. The 

 ))ody of the work (pp. 24-103) is devoted to the descriptions of the chief 

 mimetic associations in the African Bhopalocera, special prominence being- 

 given to the various phases of the females of Papilio dardanus, which constitute 

 what is probably the most curious and complicated instance of protective 

 mimicry with which we are acquainted. The two chapters on the comparative 

 palatability of butterflies to insect-eating animals, and on the evidence that they 

 are preyed upon by liirds, form a very able summary of the investigations of the 

 author and other observers in this direction, including- the classic researches in 

 insect bionomics of Mr. G. A. K. Marshall in South Africa. The ten coloured 

 plates, of which the first is a very ixseful series of highly-magnified figures of 

 the fore tarsi of representative families of liutterflies, are reproduced from the 

 author's drawings by chromo-lithography, and by a liberal use of half-figures, 

 no fewer than 173 specimens are depicted of the natiu-al size. With a few duly 

 acknowledged exceptions, all these are from Mr. Eltringham's collection and 

 that of the Oxford University Museum, and include many forms of the gi'eatest 

 rarity and interest. Very few, if any, figures that we have seen surpass these 

 in spirited execution and fidelity of detail, and Plate X, which illustrates the 

 mimetic V forms of Papilio dardanus, some of these here figured being as yet 

 unique, is perhaps the most striking of the whole series. A word of commenda- 

 tion nivist be given to the very full and clear " Explanations of Plates ; " and a 

 copious bibliography and index, with an excellent " up-to-date " map of Africa, 

 complete this important work, on which the author may be very heartily 

 congi-atulated. 



