G40 Dr. G. B. LorifRaff's Blonomic Notes on Butterjlies, 



In marked contrast witli the last is P. aristolocJiiss, 

 Fabr., which sails about slowly and quietly with little 

 obvious flappint^ of the wings ; it moves about in a stately 

 way as if confident in its immunity from attack and is the 

 most easily caught of all the group. 



P. poli/tcs, Linn., two of whose polymorphic ^ mimic 

 hector and aristolwliix respectively, behaves very differ- 

 ently from them and seems to trust much to swiftness of 

 flight; my observations chiefly relate to the $, and I have 

 an impression that the flight of the $ is slower, but this 

 requires confirmation. Though well known to Indian 

 entomologists I am not aware that the contrast in flight 

 between poli/tcs and aristolochix has yet been placed on 

 record. 



It is a notable habit with many Papilios that wheu 

 settled on flowers feeding they keep their wings in almost 

 constant movement.* This has been noted in all the 

 following species: — 0. darsius; this when feeding occa- 

 sionally stops fluttering, dropping the fore-wings back 

 (towards tlie abdomen); P. ijarinda, P. hector, P. aristolo- 

 chm, P. 2wli/tes, P. agamcmnon (the habit is very marked 

 in this species), P. demolcus, P. dcrnodocus, P. disdmilis 

 and P. mooreanus, Rothsch. (a race oihelcnus, Linn.). 



I was much struck by specimens of the last-named in 

 the forest at Hatton, Ceylon (5 March, 1908), settled on 

 very dark grey rocks drinking, with their wings about f 

 expanded, but with the fore-wings drawn back so as almost 

 entirely to conceal the conspicuous cream-coloured spot 

 on the hind-wings. For the moment I thought that there 

 was before me some other species, entirely black on the 

 upper side. 



P. tcrcdon, Feld. {sarpedon, Linn.), and P. Jason, Esp. 

 (telephtis, Feld.), do not flutter when drinking. 



§ 8. The selection as o^csting-ijlnccs of Yellow Leaves hy 

 Yellow Butterjlies, 



As there still appear to be entomologists of wide expe- 

 rience who doubt whether butterflies, impelled by instinct, 

 ever select resting-places of like colour with themselves, 



* Lomjslaff, " Some Rest Attitudes of Butterflies," Trans. Ent. 

 Soc. Loud., 190G, p. 111. 



