8 THE EVOLUTION OF 



could be effectuated with so mauy different phenomena, I 

 think my views ought to seem so much the more likely 

 to be right. Moreover all my pursuits in that line tend 

 to lend force to ray opinion on that subject — at least 

 as to the main point — especially the studies I made 

 during the summer of 1898 when I had the advantage 

 of visiting the rich and newly classified collection of Pie- 

 ridae in the British (South Kensington) Museum, and also 

 the most superior collections of Msrss. Charles and René 

 Oberthür at Rennes (France). 



Not only has my conviction about the Pieridae always 

 proved to be right, but also my supposition that the same 

 thing occurs with the Papiliouidae, tbe Lycaeuidae and at 

 least with a part of the Nymphalidae. Also on examining the 

 rich series of Coleoptera belonging to Mr. René Oberthür, 

 who had the kindness to lead me about in what was to me 

 rather an unknown country, it became evident to me that 

 even there the same thing happens. Merely on some minor 

 points those afterstudies have somewhat altered my views. 



I have not yet met with a, rational contradiction of 

 them in the different papers published at the same time 

 or after mine on nearly related subjects, that is, those 

 treating of the chemistry or chemical physiology of colours 

 on the wings of butterflies, or of the results of experiments 

 in reference to those colours by which the pupae of but- 

 terflies had been exposed to an abnormal temperature, or 

 about investigations on the ontogenetic development of 

 their wings in the pupae. In Dr. M. Baer's ') investiga- 

 tions for instance I did not find anything that could not 

 be reconciled with my theory. On the contrary, his ex- 

 planation of the green colour on the back of the hindwings 

 of Antocharis cardaminis L. goes wonderfully well with 

 what I said about it in my paper (page 250). Yet I was 

 struck by a fact, which, though it has been noticed by 



1) Ueber Bau und Farben der Flügelschiippen bei Tagfaltern (Zeitschrift fur 

 wissenschaftliche Zoölogie, 65er Bd. Iw' Heft, Leipzig, 1898). 



Notes from the Leyclen Museviiri, Vol. XJXLH. 



