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Avors Frreprich Rocennorer, of the Vienna Natural History 
Museum, was a distinguished Lepidopterist, best known for 
his work, in association with the Felders, on the Lepidoptera 
collected during the voyage of the ‘‘ Novara.” 
MIMICRY IN INSECTS. 
Sharing in the perplexity avowedly felt by many of 
my predecessors in this chair as to the choice of a subject 
for the Annual Address—perplexity arising rather from the 
redundancy than from the scarcity of entomological matter — 
I have been led to think, considering the wide-reaching 
importance of the questions involved and the unmistakeable 
interest shown in the recent discussion at two of our meet- 
ings, that some account of the Mimetic Relations existing 
among Insects might not be out of place. Having for a 
considerable period devoted some attention to the matter, I 
propose to pass in review what has been placed on record ; 
and if, in so doing, I traverse ground very familiar to most 
of us, my excuse must be the fascinating interest which 
attaches to the whole subject. 
The application by Henry Walter Bates, our lamented 
President, of the great principle of natural selection in 
elucidation of the Mimicries found among Insects* is too 
well known to require any detailed repetition here. It is 
sufficient to recall that, as the result of many years’ expe- 
rience in tropical South America, Bates established the facts 
that (1) among the abundant and conspicuous butterflies 
‘of the groups Danaine, Heliconiine, Acreine, and some 
Papilionine were found very much rarer mimicking forms, 
chiefly of the group Pierine but partly belonging to other 
eroups and some even to the Heterocera, which, departing 
very widely from the aspect of their respective allies, imitated 
with more or less exactness the abundant species in question ; 
(2) the numerous and showy Danaine, etc., although of slow 
flight, did not appear to be molested by the usual insectivorous 
* Trans. Linn. Soc., xxiii. (1862). 
