CHAPTER VIII 



MIMICRY 



MIMICRY amongst animals may be either aggressive or 

 protective. Broadly speaking, if an animal imitates 

 another on which it preys for the purpose of its more 

 ready capture, the mimicry is aggressive. On the other 

 hand, an animal which is harmless itself, but closely 

 resembles a harmful creature, exhibits protective mimicry ; 

 for by their imitation they are frequently preserved from 

 danger. Cases of mimicry, both aggressive and protective, 

 are common amongst insects, and from them most of our 

 examples will be taken. 



The whole realm of nature cannot furnish a better 

 example of mimicry, or perhaps resemblance is a more 

 fitting word in this case, than is afforded by the well- 

 known leaf-butterfly of India and Malaya. The upper 

 wing surface of this remarkable insect is brilliant, nay, 

 almost gaudy. In general colour it is metallic purplish- 

 blue, and each fore-wing is marked with a broad orange 

 band and two clear spots. But no verbal description can 

 do justice to its beauty. In the collector's cabinet it is 

 a striking object ; in its native haunts it must be of 

 entrancing beauty. The wings are of curious shape, and 

 not without purpose, as we shall see presently. Their 

 under sides are dull reddish-brown, mottled with deep 

 brown, a striking contrast to the upper sides. 



In the resting position the wings are always folded, 

 close together, above their bodies, so that nothing is visible 

 except their under surfaces. The tips of the wings are 

 pointed, the "tails "are short and blunt; the outline of 

 the folded wings bears a remarkable resemblance to a dead 

 leaf, with the " tails " forming the stalk. The resemblance 



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