TRANSACTIONS 
OF THE 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
OF 
LONDON 
For THE YEAR 19138. 
I. A few Observations in Mimicry. By W. J. Kaye. 
[Read October 16th, 1912.] 
Prare 1, 
At the present time, when so much doubt is being cast 
on the theories of Bates and Fritz Miiller concerning 
Mimicry, it would be as well to put on record some observa- 
tions that have come under the notice of the writer, and 
to illustrate the insects concerned with a plate of figures. 
The drawing of the latter has been done by Mr. Horace 
Knight, and it is largely to his skill that many who cannot 
possibly see the specimens will be able to form an idea of 
some of the extraordinary resemblances. But the object 
of the present paper is primarily to record the habits of 
the mimicking insects, and to point out that they are 
quite abnormal in the family to which they belong, and 
must have been developed for a specific purpose. All the 
mimics are members of the family Syntomidae, while the 
models consist chiefly of Hymenoptera aculeata, but also 
Coleoptera, Hymenoptera terebrantia, and in a single case 
to another lepidopteron. There are many who, while dis- 
believing in mimicry generally, yet half believe the action 
of mimicry when between such widely differing insects as 
those of the Hymenoptera aculeata and the Lepidoptera. 
The theory of Bates then seems as if it might be true, 
for it is obvious that a stinging wasp must be unpalatable, 
while by comparison a small moth might well be palatable 
TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1913.—PARTI. (JUNE) B 
