The Bionomics of South African Insects. 489 



negative of the positive form of synaposeme character- 

 istic of the Picriiie genus Mylothris. Thus very striking 

 warning characters are peculiar to this section of Papilios, 

 the fifth or Zenobia Group of Aurivillius ; and, further- 

 more, the character we are specially considering, the black- 

 marked basal patch of the under-side of the hind-wing, 

 assumes a form which is unknown in Plancma, being tra- 

 versed by blackened veins and broader black internervular 

 lines. In the species of Fapilio last mentioned there are no 

 spots upon the brown triangle, only these strongly-marked 

 radiating lines. In zenohia and still more in the male 

 cynorta a few spots are added by modification of some of 

 the other markings, and it is probable that this slight 

 change is a late diaposematic response to Plancma, made 

 after the latter liad gained the golden-brown triangle in 

 Mtillerian mimicry of these dominant Papilios. 



Another important point is the fact that the golden- 

 brown triangle is larger in the females than the males of 

 cyprxofila. and zenohia which do not mimic Planemas, 

 smaller, as has already been pointed out, in the females of 

 the species which strongly exhibit this Midlerian approach 

 to either Plancma or Amauris. 



It must also be remembered that Papilios may be 

 excessively unpalatable to insect-eating animals as a 

 whole. Thus Mr. Frank Finn concludes that P. aristo- 

 lochicV is more distasteful to birds than Danainm, Ac7'/ea 

 viol/e, and Delias cucharis (Journ. Asiat. Soc. Beng., Ixvii, 

 pt. ii, 1897, p. 614). 



The facts and arguments set forth above render it 

 probable (1) that the golden-brown triangular patch first 

 arose in the Zenobia Group of Ethiopian Papilios; (2) that 

 it was later reproduced on a smaller scale by the Acrseine 

 genus Plancma, the Acroeine round black spots contrasting 

 with the ground-colour in place of the radiating black lines 

 of the Pcqiilio ; (3) that, later still, other widely-separated 

 genera reproduced the character in the form it had as- 

 sumed in Plancma, e.g. Pseudacr^a, Mymnias, etc., while a 

 reciprocal (diaposematic) tendency (see p. 426) to approach 

 the Plancma form is seen in certain species of the Zenobia 

 Group of Papilios. Several species of the group have 

 females mimicking Acr?eines or Danaines. In the three 

 of these wliich were examined the males exhibited the 

 above-described diaposematic tendency, while the females 

 possessed a greatly-reduced but otherwise similar triangular 

 patch. 



