xliii 



Mr. Jenner Weir considered that Mr. Rutherford's views might be 

 extended to the colour variations of Hipparchia seinele. 



Mr. Wood-Mason referred to the many cases of protective resemblance 

 exhibited in the Mantida;. 



Major Elwes considered that too much stress was laid on " protective 

 resemblances," and from a study of the birds of Northern India, had come 

 to the conclusion that the colour variation showed neither for nor against 

 the theory. 



Mr. Distant adduced some instances of what appeared to be protective 

 coloration, and stated that he thought in many cases, without further 

 knowledge, the term "assimilative coloration" would be as correct as the 

 designation of " protective resemblance." 



The President alluded to the beautiful protective adaptation of coloration 

 in the wings of the lepidopterous genus Kallima. 



Mr. J. Jenner Weir exhibited five specimens of Argijnnis Paphia, which 

 he had captured during the month of July in the New Forest, Hampshire. 

 The first was a singular aberration of the male, having two well-defined 

 white spots on the upper wings and two faint white spots on the lower 

 wings ; he had heard of similar specimens having been taken in former 

 years, and one other was observed in the present year. The second was a 

 normal specimen of the male, introduced for comparison with the third and 

 fourth males exhibited. With regard to these two, Mr. Weir remarked 

 that it was well known that a melanic variety of the female of Paphia 

 known as Valezlna was observed every year in the New Forest, and it 

 appeared to him that if he carefully examined a sufficient number of males 

 he might find some which, although not strictly Valezlna, yet showed a 

 tendency to melanism. After examining a large number, he found two 

 males much darker than usual; the ground colour of the wings was redder, 

 and the four enlarged nervures were very much more deeply' edged with 

 black. He was of opinion that these were potentially males of Valezlna, 

 and that from such males the female of that dark variety would be more 

 likely to originate than from a male of the ordinary colour. The fifth, 

 specimen was a true Valezlna, and he remarked that this year Argynnis 

 Paphia was unusually scarce, yet the proportion of Valezlna was much 

 greater than usual ; certainly not less than ten per cent, of the females 

 were so coloured, the usual proportion not being greater than about one 

 per cent. He had himself captured eleven Valezlna, and had seen three 

 others, and he had not altogether seen one hundred and forty females, if so 

 many, Mr. Weir was confident that the melanism extended to a great 

 extent over the whole of a brood, as eight of those taken were found within 

 a few yards of each other ; and in another spot he and his friends had 

 captured fourteen within a short distance of each other ; at the same time 

 none were seen in other woods where the species was common. It might 



