COLOR AND PATTERN IX AXIMaI^ 423 



details in black and whitish, copy faithfully the details in Annsia; 

 only in the addition of a thin hiackisli line across the discal area 

 of the hind wings does mrhijjpus show any ncjticeahle difTereiice. 

 The viceroy is believed not to be distasteful to birds, but its 

 close mimicry of the distasteful monarch un(l()ui)tediy leads 

 to its being constantly mistaken for it by the birds and thus 

 left unmolested. 



The subject of mimicry has not l^een studied largely among 

 the insects of our countrv, but in the tropics and subtropics 

 numerous striking exam|)les of mimetic forms have been noted 

 and written about. The members of two large families of ))utter- 

 flies, the Danaida and ]feliconida», are distasteful to birds, 

 and are mimicked by many species of other butterfly families, 

 especially the Pierida*, and by the swallowtails, I*apili()ni(he. 

 Many plates illustrating such cases have l)een j)ublished by 

 Poulton and Marshall, Haase, Weismann, and others. Shelford, 

 in an extended account of mimicry as exenij)hfie(l among the 

 insects of Borneo, refers to and illustrates many striking ex- 

 amples among the beetles, the Hemii)tera, Diptera, Orthoptera. 

 Neuroptera, and moths; distasteful Lycid beetles are closely 

 mimicked b}'' other beetles, by Hemii)tera, and by nM>tlis: 

 distasteful ladvbird beetles are mimicked bv Hemiptera. 

 Orthoptera, and by otiier beetles; stinging Hymenoptera arc 

 mimicked b}^ stingless Hymeno})tera, by beetles, flies, Ijugs. 

 and moths. Poulton and ^larshall, in tlieir account of mimicry 

 among South African insects, publish manv colored plates 

 revealing most striking resemblances between insects well 

 defended by inedibility or defensive wea})ons, and their mim- 

 ickers. Our space unfortunately prevents any specific con- 

 sideration of these various interesting cases. 



The special conditions under which mimicry exists have Ihk^ii 

 seriously studied and are of extreme interest. It is obvious that 

 the inedible or defended mimicked form nnist be more abundant 

 tlian the mimicker, so that the experimenting yotmg bird or 

 lizard may have several chances to one of getting an ill iiiMc 

 or a sting when he attacks an insect of certain type or pattern. 

 This requirement of relative abundance of mimicker and 

 mimicked seems actually met, as i^roved by observation. In 

 some cases only females of a sjiecies indulge in mimicry, the 

 males being unmodified. This is exi)lained on the ground of 

 the particular iiecc.Si:^)' Iqi' protection of the egtr-ladcn, heavy- 



