328 . Mr. G. A. K. Marshall on 



Teracolus ri. Tlio specimen wns almost the tirst female 

 of the species which I obtained. The individuals of this 

 butterfly roosted regularly on the stalks of the plant in 

 question, their uuder-sides being of about the same tint 

 as the dried-up leaves and stems. 



" ' Futelqyorc Sihri, near Agra, May 1877. — Spiders lay 

 in wait for the Pierine Belenois mesentina, on the flowers 

 of a caper (Caj^paris aphylla). On this occasion the spiders 

 took a very lieavy toll of the butterflies.' " * 



[Mr. C. J. M. Gordon has sent to the Hope Department 

 a male specimen of Acr/va bonasia, which he found on 

 January 8, 1902, at Old Oalabar, in the grasp of a flower- 

 haunting spider (Thomisus, sp.). The falces of the arachnid 

 were fixed in the butterfly's thorax, and the insect was 

 nearly dead. — E. B. P.] 



0. The Attacks of Predaceous Insects other than 

 Mantid.e upon conspicuous specially-defended 

 Lepidoptera, etc. (E. B. P.) 



H. W. Bates, in the historic paper which contained the 

 first suggestion of the theory of Protective Mimicry 

 (Trans. Linn. Soc.,vol. xxiii, 1862, p. 405), states concerning 

 the attacks of predaceous insects : " I never saw the 

 flocks of slow-flying Ileliconi/hv [in the writings of Bates 

 and Belt upon Mimicry, the HeJlconichv always include 

 the Ithomiinm or NeotTopinm, then called the Danaoid 

 Heliconid/e] in the woods persecuted by birds or Dragon- 

 flies, to which they would have been an easy prey; nor, 

 when at rest on leaves, did they appear to be molested by 

 Lizards or the j^redaceous Flies of the family Asilidie, 

 which were very often seen pouncing on Butterflies of 

 other families" (p. 510). 



There is, however, good reason for believing that such 

 attacks are not rarely made, and that predaceous insects 

 are important enemies of aposematic butterflies. 



In the follownng three sub-sections of this paper I have 

 brought together some slight evidence in support of this 

 conclusion. Far more requires to be done, and it is hoped 

 that the attention which is here directed to the inquiry 



* Shortly after I liad made the oljservation I came across a 

 reference to this hahit of the spiders at the very same place, but I 

 cannot now recall the name of the pul)Ucation. — J. W. Y. 



