254 MR. R. SHELFORD ON MIMETIC INSECTS AND [ Nov. 4, 
Unfortunately T was unable to test the efticacy of the disguise 
for fear of losing the larva, which I was anxious to rear for the 
purpose of identification. 
ii. Mimic. Larva of « Noctuid Moth (?Genus Tinolius). 
Model. An Ant, Heophylla smaragdina (Fab.). 
In Jan. 1900 a curious Noctuid larva of the subfamily Quadri- 
fine was pointed out to me by Mr. H. N. Ridley in the Botanic 
Gardens, Singapore, resting on a leaf of a tree much frequented 
by the common red ant Gcophylla smaragdina. 
Nearly all the segments of the body are furnished with fragile 
tentacle-like processes which are capable of quivering movements, 
and so loosely attached that very careful handling was necessary 
to secure a perfect specimen. 
The arrangement of these tentacles is as follows :— 
Segment 1. 3 pairs: 1 pair lateral, 2 pairs dorsal pointing 
forwards, 
, 2. 8 pairs: 1 pair lateral, 1 pair sub-lateral, 1 pair 
dorsal. 
3. 2 pairs lateral. 
4. Unprovided with tentacles, 
” : 
,, 0-10. Each with 1 lateral pair. 
», ll. 2 lateral pairs. 
» 12. 1 lateral pair. 
,, 13. 2lateral pairs, the most anterior being very delicate, 
the most posterior strong and curved backwards. 
Segment 8 is dorsally produced into a sharp-edged prominence. 
The anal prolegs are somewhat disproportionately large and can be 
widely divaricated ; just above each is a prominent black spot : 
the colour of the body is brown of the exact shade of the 
(Ecophylla, with a narrow yellow line on each side. When 
the larva is irritated, the posterior part of the body is immediately 
reared in the air, the anal prolegs are thrown widely apart and 
the tentacles, especially the most posterior pair, are violently 
agitated. When the caterpillar is seen in an end-on position or 
whentheanterior two-thirds of the body are hidden, the resemblance 
to the ant is positively startling: the black eye-spots represent 
the eyes, the widely-diverging anal prolegs, the gaping jaws and 
the tentacles, the antenne and legs of the model; the posterior 
pair of tentacles are so curved that they represent very accurately 
the elbowed antennz of the ant. 
It might be thought essential, in cases of mimetic lepidopterous 
larvee such as the two examples just described, that the greater 
part of the body should be concealed in order perfectly to deceive 
prospective enemies: for example, in the sphinx-moth larva it is 
only the head of the snake that is copied, but is it necessary for 
the larva, in order to obtain immunity, that it should conceal its 
disproportionate shortness of body, thus arguing for it a degree 
[26] 
