INSECTS. 





One of the most wonderful cases of insect mimicry is furnished by a 

 butterfly occurring in Sumatra, and which even excels that afforded by 

 the walking-sticks and leaf-insects described on a preceding pa I 



called Kallima paralecta, and is described so well In Mr. Wallace thai we 

 cannot forbear quoting his account in full. "Its upper surface is of a 

 rich purple, variously 

 tinged with ash-color, 

 and across the fore 

 win^s there is a broad 

 bar of deep orange, 

 so that when on the 

 wing it is very con- 

 spicuous. This spe- 

 cies was not uncom- 

 mon in dry woods and 

 thickets, and I often 

 endeavored to capture 

 it without success ; for 

 after flying a short 

 distance it would en- 

 ter a bush among dry 

 or dead leaves, and 

 however carefully I 

 crept up to the spot 

 I could never discover 

 it till it would sud- 

 denly start out again, 

 and then disappear in 

 a similar place. At 

 length I was fortu- 

 nate enough to see 

 the exact spot where the butterfly settled, and though I lost sight 

 for some time, I at length discovered that it was close befon- nrj eyes, In it 

 that in its position of repose it so closely resembled a dead leaf attached 

 to a twig as almost certainly to deceive the eye even when gazing lull 

 upon it. I captured several specimens on the wing, and was aid. i'nlh 

 understand the way in which this wonderful resemblance is produced. 



"The end of the upper wings terminates in a fine point, jusl as the 

 leaves of many tropical shrubs and trees are pointed, while the lower 

 wings are somewhat more obtuse, and are lengthened out into a short, thicl 

 tail. Between these two points there runs (on the under surface) a dar! 



Fig. 285. — Leaf-butterfly (Kallima paralecta) of Sumatra. In the centre 

 a specimen is shown at rest on a twig. 



