( Ixxjx ) 



ally be observed depositing liquid on leaves and drinking 

 it up." 



Mr. Kershaw, who has kindly written, tells me that he has 

 observed the habit in all the species of Parnara described in 

 his book. This was at Macao, where the species are on the 

 wing and have the habit all the year round, but he has also 

 seen it in the Malay Islands, Australia and the West Indies. 

 He regards it as specially characteristic of the genus Parnara. 

 His letter continues : "No doubt when they do this in a hot 

 climate on man or other animals, they must imbibe a certain 

 amount of various salts. They will also emit liquid on any 

 object whence they can re-imbibe it. Very likely they would 

 get salts from various rocks and stones and earth when they 

 void the liquid on these, as I have often (hundreds of times) 

 seen them do. 



" The habit can scarcely arise from want of moisture, since 

 they merely drink again what they have just voided (+ what- 

 ever salts, etc., may have been taken up by the liquid from 

 the material it has been thrown down on), and moreover they 

 will do this when only a few inches from a stream or pool. 

 There may be something in common with the habit of cows, 

 which will often drink farmyard manure water as black as 

 ink (and of course full of salts) instead of drinking pure water 

 from the trough close by."] 



Mr. E. E. (jtREEN had kindly written on the general subject : 



" With regard to curious feeding habits of certain butter- 

 flies, I remember the late Col. Manders, on one of our collect- 

 ing trips in Ceylon, pointing out to me how the butterflies 

 were settling on his bare arm and hands — apparently imbibing 

 the moisture therefrom. Although I was in an equally warm 

 condition, I was not honoured in the same way. No butter- 

 flies showed any attraction for my skin. Manders told me, 

 at the time, that they invariably selected him in preference 

 to others, and he attributed the fact to his having a gouty 

 tendency. Perhaps you can find out from one of your medical 

 friends whether the perspiration of a gouty subject contains 

 any substance that is not present in that of an ordinary 

 mortal. 



" Do you think that the attractive properties of urine (both 



