on Milllcrian Mimicry and Diaposematism. 581 



indeed Mr. Marshall acknowledges. He very truly points 

 out that " if we examine such a series of forms as Httphina 

 jjhryne, nerissa, lichenosa and corva, it seems clear that we 

 are dealing with those progressive modifications which are 

 generally comprised under the name of geographical races." 

 It is also quite correct that " heavy black borders are a 

 very common feature in the genus Huphina and exist in 

 a majority of species occurring in the Malay Archipelago." 

 Then why should we assume that the line " leads up " 

 from H. nerissa through lichenosa to corva ? Is it not 

 equally open to us to suppose that coi'va began in the 

 Malayan region where so many of its congeners find a 

 home, and passed towards the north and west, gradually 

 losing its black border as it came into new geographical 

 surroundings, but retaining that feature so long as it was 

 subject to the mimetic influence of Ixias ? If this supposi- 

 tion be rejected, there remains the possibility, or even 

 probability, of other distributional changes. These are 

 more important factors in mimicry than has, I think, been 

 generally admitted.* But the elevation of the present 

 facts of distribution, interesting as they are, into a " serious 

 difficulty " in the way of the diaposematic interpretation 

 of this very curious resemblance seems to savour of hyper- 

 criticism ; as also, especially in view of Mr, Finn's ex- 

 periments referred to in my paper,-f- does Mr. Marshall's 

 evident scepticism even as to the mimicry of Huphina by 

 Ixias. As to Mr. Wallace's " warning " quoted by Mr. 

 Marshall (pp. 120, 121), I am not in much danger of 

 forgetting it, for I know now that I have several times 

 in the past been temporarily misled into attributing to 

 fortuitous resemblance or to mere affinity many undoubted 

 cases of Pierine mimicry. 



The fact mentioned by Mr. Marshall that the British 

 Museum specimen of /. haliensis ^ possesses a suffusion 

 of pale orange in the central area of the fore-wing, a point 

 which had also been noted in my paper (loc.cit., p. 523), is 

 especially interesting ; as it shows that in this species the 

 mimetic process is not entirely complete. 



The last point which seems to call for remark in this 



* See Poulton, "Essays on Evolution," 1908, p. 52 ; and note by 

 Mr. Trimen on recent changes of distribution in African butterflies, 

 ib. c'lt. 



t The reference was given by me as " Journ. Asiat. Soc. Benc'al '' 

 1895. The year should be 1897. ° 



