139 
were not procured from the source from which he had frequently 
gone before for facts in the compilation of his local papers, but 
that they were the property of the Allen family, and he was. 
indebted to Colonel Allen for the use of them. 
The second paper read was by Lieut.-Colonel BLATHWAYT, 
F.L.S., on “Mimicry amongst Insects,” illustrated by drawings 
and also by numerous specimens of British insects and others from 
North and South America, India, Burmah, and the Gold Coast. 
After explaining that the terms “mimicry” and “ protective 
resemblance” implied no voluntary action on the part of the 
insects, he divided the subject into three heads :— 
1. Where it is adopted for purposes of concealment, either in order- 
to escape the attacks of enemies or for purposes of attack, 
when lying in wait, to avoid being seen by its prey. 
2. When it is adopted to render itself conspicuous, as a warning 
that the object is either dangerous or not good for food. 
3. When neither dangerous nor inedible itself, it takes the appear- 
ance of another insect that is, and thereby obtains protection. 
As examples of the first class, a number of insects British and foreign. 
were shown, which obtained protection by their close resemblance to 
some inanimate object, such as a dead leaf, a lichen, or a bit of stick ;. 
and among them several leaf-butterflies from Assam, Bhutan and the 
Andaman Islands ; and it was pointed out that the tip of the upper 
wings ends in a fine point as is the case with many tropical trees and 
shrubs, while the lower wings are drawn out into a sort of tail. From 
end to end there runs a dark curved line exactly resembling the midrib 
of aleaf, with other marks imitating lateral veins. The habit of these 
butterflies is to rest among dead or dry leaves, the wings closely 
pressed together, the end of the tail just touching the twig on which 
it sits, and forming a perfect stalk. The head and horns are drawn 
back so as to be quite hidden. Although in the same species the 
colours and markings of the wings are alike, the underside, or that 
which is exposed when at rest, varies very greatly, but all the varia~ 
tions are similar to those of dead leaves, and in some there are spots. 
and stains exactly resembling those minute fungi that grow thereon. 
To illustrate the case where the concealment is for purposes of attack 
