3()6 Mr. G. A. K. Marshall on 



same species from Burma sljoiild be the three wings you 

 send me, which you say you found on the ground." — 

 E. B. P.] 



15. Guy A. K. Marshall's Indirect Evidence of the 

 Attacks upon Butterflies. (E. B. P.) 



At the meeting of the Entomological Society held on 

 August 1, 1883, Professor Meldola communicated some 

 observations made by Dr. Fritz Midler in Brazil (Proc. 

 Ent. Soc. Lend., p. xxiii), together with specimens of dis- 

 tasteful conspicuous butterflies with wings notched or 

 otherwise injured apparently by birds. Dr. Fritz Midler's 

 well-known theory, which accounts for synaposematic 

 resemblances, implies that even distasteful butterflies 

 are experimentally attacked by young enemies. That 

 such attacks are made had been doubtetl, and Professor 

 Meldola therefore wrote to Dr. Miiller asking him to 

 collect observations upon the point. A specimen of Heli- 

 co7ims nicrate sent by him to Professor Meldola was 

 described (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Dec. 1882, p. 419) as 

 having a symmetrical, jagged notch on both fore-wings; 

 and on Aug. 1,1883, Professor Meldola exhibited examples 

 of thirty-six notched and shorn specimens, of Acnea [Adi- 

 notc] tlialia, obtained in one week by the great German 

 naturalist. Tliese examples and the Hdiconius have been 

 presented by Professor Meldola to the Hope Depart- 

 ment, Avhere they may be seen beside numerous similar 

 specimens from very different parts of the world, includ- 

 ing those figured on the accompanying Plates IX, X, 

 and XL Similar observations upon Bornean butterflies, 

 including four Danainm, have been published by S. B. J. 

 Skertchley (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6) iii, 1880, \^\x 477- 

 485), while W. L. Distant has described iinsymmetrical 

 injuries, apparently caused by a bird, in the wings of 

 Limnas chri/sip2nis (" Naturalist in Transvaal," 1889, p. ()5), 

 I noticed the same thing (1888) in many specimens of 

 Colias cdiisa captured in Madeira ("Colours of Animals," 

 London, 1890, p. 20(5; see also Roland Trimen's Presidential 

 Address to the Entomological Society of London, Jan. 19, 

 1898, where many of these and other records are collected 

 and commented upon). 



It seemed of importance to obtain this kind of evidence 

 from as many parts of the world as possible and on a large 

 sciile. I therefore asked Mr. Marshall if he would kindly 



