8 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



on the upper side, when its wings are closed it 

 closely resembles a dead leaf. It has a little tail 

 on the lower wing which looks exactly like the stalk 

 of a leaf, and from this tail a dark brown line 

 runs through both wings (which on the under sides 

 are light brown) to the apex of the upper wing. 

 One would naturally be inclined to look upon this 

 wonderful resemblance to a dead leaf in a butterfly 

 sitting with closed wings on the ground amongst 

 real dead leaves as a remarkable instance of pro- 

 tective form and coloration. And of course it may 

 be that this is the correct explanation. But what 

 enemy is this butterfly protected against ? Upon 

 hundreds of different occasions I have ridden and 

 walked through the forests where Precis artaxia 

 was numerous, and I have caught and preserved 

 many specimens of these butterflies, but never once 

 did I see a bird attempting to catch one of them. 

 Indeed, birds of all kinds were scarce in the forests 

 where these insects were to be found. I now think 

 that the form and colour of the under wings of Precis 

 artaxia have more probably been produced by the 

 influence of its environment than by the need for 

 protection. 



During the rainy season in South Africa, the 

 open glades in the forests bordering the rivers are 

 gay with multitudes of brightly coloured butterflies 

 of many different species, and after a night's rain 

 butterflies of various kinds may often be seen settling 

 in masses round pools of water along waggon roads. 

 Most of these butterflies are conspicuously coloured, 

 though they are in perfect harmony with the sunlit 

 flowers which spring up at the time of year when 

 they appear. I cannot, however, believe that the 

 need for protection against birds or other enemies 

 has had anything whatever to do with the deter- 

 mination of their various colours, as in all my 

 experience (and I have been all my life a close 



