622 Dr. G. B. Longstaff 's Bionomic Notes on Buttcrjiies. 



Papilio 2)oh/damas, Linn. (Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela, 

 1907). All odour reseinbliiig that of musty liay, or straw, 

 was detected in 2 specimens of each sex. My wife 

 compared the scent to rue. 



Papilio eurimedes. Cram. (Venezuela, 1907). A ^ had a 

 strong musty straw odour. 



Papilio fcncides, Esp., f/argarus, Hiibn. (Trinidad, 1907). 

 A living ^ had a smell of musty straw, which persisted 

 after deatli. 



HesperiidtE. 



As yet I have never been able to satisfy myself tliat 

 any of the Skippers are scented. Dr. Dixey, however, 

 once found a very distiurt smell of chocolate in a speci- 

 men of Gcgcnes occulta, Trim.* It seems probable that 

 some special manipulation may be requisite to elicit scents 

 in this group. 



§ 2. The Coloured Juice exuded hij certain Lepidoptera. 



It has long been known that some butterflies, notably 

 Danain,v and Acrxinm, yield a copious yellow or green 

 juice on pinching, and this has been commonly associated 

 with the known, or suspected, distastefulness of the in- 

 sects tliemselvcs.f A devoted student of entomology, 

 M. Felix Plateau,! has tried to get to the root of the 

 matter by eating, or at any rate chewing. Abraxas grossu- 

 lariata and its larva and pupa. Mr. Marshall has also 

 tried many tasting experiments with South African butter- 

 flies.! "^^^ results were in both cases inconclusive. Prof. 

 Poulton thinks that this is only what might have been 

 expected, since we have no right to suppose that a given 

 butterfly tastes the same to us as to an msectivorous bird. 

 It might be added that the likes and dislikes of our 

 domesticated mammals difl'er from our own. 1 must confess 

 that no enthusiasm has so far availed to bring me to the 

 point of chewing a butterfly. However, in a few cases I 

 have ventured to taste a minute drop of the yellow liquid, 

 with somewhat unsatisfactt)ry results. 



Telchinia vlohv, Fabr. (India, 1904). "When injured a 



* Dixey, Trans. Eut. Soc. Lond., 1906, p. ii. 



■f See JJixeij, loc. cit. pp. iii, iv, vi, vii. 



X Mem. de'la Soc Zool. de France, Tome vii, 1894, p. 375, § 7, 



§ Trans. Ent. Soc. Loud., 1902, pp. 405-414. 



