Species of the Genus Limenitis. 473 



to some extent joined up by those of the fore-wing under 

 surface, forming a loop roughly suggestive of philcnor. 



Scudder regards astyanax as a very weak and perhaps 

 incipient mimic of Papilio (Laertias) jjhilenor (p. 287). 

 Had the conception of secondary mimicry been before 

 him, Scudder would have recognised that, although 

 astyanax is, as he states, but a poor mimic of the primary 

 model, philenor, it bears a considerable superficial likeness 

 to the three Papilionine mimics of this species. 



Tbansition between arthemis and astyanax. — 

 The intermediate form proserpma is considered by Scudder 

 (1. c, p. 289) to be a hybrid between arthemis and astyanax. 

 In support of this conclusion he brings forward strong 

 evidence based on distribution. Proserpina is found in a 

 narrow belt across the eastern third of the continent, this 

 belt coinciding with the southern boundary of arthemis 

 and the northern of astyanax. Along this line it is 

 known to occur at many points. Proserpina tends itself 

 to vary in the direction of arthemis to the north and of 

 astyanax to the south. The fact that Edwards bred 

 arthemis and proserpina from the eggs of the latter is 

 consistent with the view that the parent was a hetero- 

 zygote (hybrid), whose offspring were yielding parent 

 forms and heterozygotes, perhaps in Mendelian propor- 

 tions. 



In the collection of the British Museum astyanax and 

 proserpina are regarded as forms or subspecies of arthemis, 

 the form lamina of the latter supplying the connecting 

 link. 



Transition between astyanax and archippus. — 

 Hybrids between these two forms are considered probable 

 by Scudder (I.e., p. 283). Thus he quotes Meade 

 (Can. Ent. iv, p. 217) " who found an astyanax on whose 

 upper surface the blue was supplanted by fulvous ' except 

 in the marginal lunules, which are white with a faint 

 bluish tinge.'" He also refers to Grey (Ibid, xi, 17) for 

 "a melanitic form of disippus [archippus] with all the 

 markings of Ursula [astyanax] on the under surface." 

 Professor Bateson has kindly called my attention to 

 further notes on such intermediates, with figures, in 

 "Psyche" (1904, Feb., and 1907, Oct.). 



It is therefore probable that occasional interbreeding 

 takes place between astyanax and archippus, and that 



