362 LEPIDOPTERA 



CHAP. 



consorts of the other sex, as to arouse in the student a feeling of 

 surprise, and a strong desire to fathom the mysteries involved. It 

 would be difficult to surpass the effective coloration of the males 

 in many of the species of Ornithoptera ; they are, too, very diverse 

 in this respect ; 0. brookiana is of an intense black colour, with 

 a band of angular green marks extending the whole length of 

 its wings, while behind the head there is a broad collar of crimson ' 

 colour. Perhaps the most remarkable of all is the 0. paradisea, 

 recently discovered in New Guinea ; in this species the sexual 

 disparity reaches its maximum. The female (Fig. 184) is a 

 large, sombre creature of black, white and grey colours, but the 

 male (Fig. 183) is brilliant with gold and green, and is made 

 additionally remarkable by a long tail of unusual form on each 

 hind wing. 



We may anticipate that these extraordinary cases of sexual 

 total dissimilarity in appearance are accompanied by equally 

 remarkable habits and physiological phenomena. In the case of 

 0. brookiana the female is extremely rare, so that the collector, 

 Kiinstler, could only obtain fifteen females to a thousand males. 

 According to Mr. Skertchly, instead of the crowd of males being- 

 eager to compete for the females, the reverse is the case ; the 

 female diligently woos the male, who exhibits a reluctance to 

 coupling. This observer apparently considered that the " emerald 

 feathers " of the male are a guide or incitement to the female. 1 



In Africa Ornithoptera is to a certain extent represented 

 by two extremely remarkable forms, Papilio zcdmoxis and P. 

 (JDrurya) antimachus. There are about a dozen other genera of 

 Papilionidae ; most of them contain but few species. Parnassius, 

 however, is rich in species inhabiting the mountains and elevated 

 plateaus of the northern hemisphere in both the Old and New 

 Worlds ; it is remarkable for the small amount of scales on the 

 wings, and for the numerous variations of the species. The female 

 possesses a peculiar pouch at the end of the body ; although only 

 formed during the process of coupling, it has a special and 

 characteristic form in most of the species. The curious Indian 

 genus Leptocircus has parts of the front wings transparent, while 

 the hind pair form long tails. This genus is of interest in that 



1 Ann. Nat. Hist. (6), iv. 1889, p. 213. We trust there will not be many more 

 Kiinstlers, as this beautiful butterfly must certainly become extinct, if the female 

 be really as rare as is supposed. 



