182 



TRUE TALES OF THE INSECTS. 



case of the wonderful phenomenon of mimicry. From 

 some cause, the butterflies imitated seem exempt from the 



attacks of birds, and 

 by imitating them 

 the female of Pa- 

 pilio memnon also 

 eludes persecution. 

 It is, indeed, curious 

 that both these dis- 

 tinct forms of female, 

 the tailed and the 

 tailless, are pro- 

 duced from the eggs 

 of either form (see 



Fi g- S3)- 



Of precisely the 

 same nature as mi- 

 micry are those 

 adaptations in which 

 the insect is coloured 

 and marked so as to 

 represent the soil, 

 or some vegetative 

 object, the simulated 

 appearance serving to conceal the creature from the 

 prying eyes of enemies. The under sides of many 

 butterflies, in all parts of the world, exhibit a deceptive 



FIG. 34 A Leaf-Butterfly (Kallima inachis), in 

 flight and in repose. 



