( yale) 
like the larvae of Marmara. Prof. Poutton thought that 
Mr. Durrant would be interested to know that the habits of 
larvae are very closely in accordance with his suggestions. 
A HESPERID DRINKING INK AFTER FIRST MOISTENING IT.— 
Prof. Poutton said that the following observation—entirely 
new to him—had been made by his son, Dr. E. P. Poulton of 
Guy’s Hospital, when staying at Grundl See, Salzkammergut, 
Austria :— 
‘‘ When at Géssl, we were writing in the open air by a lake: 
a skipper flew up, and tried drinking up the dried ink with 
his proboscis, and to make matters easier, he extruded a drop 
of liquid from the end of his abdomen, and produced a small 
smudge by moving about his proboscis. He then sucked up 
the ink” (Aug. 19, 1912). 
Dr. E. P. Poulton believed that the species was Hesperia 
linea, L. 
Wincs or DANAINE AND EUPLOEINE BUTTERFLIES KILLED 
BY BIRDS IN CEyLoN.—Mr. J. C. F. Fryer exhibited a large 
series of the wings of Danaine and Euploeine butterflies from 
Ceylon, remains of these insects which had been observed 
by him to be eaten by birds, mainly by the so-called “ Wood- 
Swallow,” Artamus fuscus; also a few specimens of the same 
butterflies which had been killed by Asilidae, these being 
distinguished by the fact that the bodies were nearly or quite 
intact. Prof. Poutron, Mr. G. A. K. MarsHALL, and Commander 
J. J. WatkeEr, took part in the discussion which ensued. 
Prof. Poutron said he was very much interested in Mr. 
Fryer’s results, and that he was particularly glad to see such 
a fine body of evidence in the shape of the abandoned wings 
of butterflies that had been eaten. At the same time the 
evidence did not appear to him to be as subversive of existing 
hypotheses as many opponents of the theory of mimicry 
seemed to think. He was referring not so much to Mr. Fryer’s 
remarks on this occasion as to the reports in the press of his 
paper recently read before the Zoological Society of London. 
Prof. Poulton had always combated the opinion of the late 
Erich Haase that protected species with warning colours enjoy 
“absolute ’ immunity from attacks. He was confident that 
no species in the world enjoyed absolute immunity, and those 
