M. BORDAGE ON CHRYSALIDS. 245 



the red of brick. Mr Trimen expressed the opinion that far too 

 few and too limited experiments had been made among the species 

 of such large genera as Papi/io, to warrant our at present coming 

 to any conclusion on the point in question. 



Mr H. Caracciolo, who was present at the reading of the 

 paper, but was obliged to be absent from part of the discussion, 

 handed in the following remarks for publication. 



The observations made by M. liordage on D. cJirysippns are 

 certainly very interesting, though unfortunately he seems to have 

 experimented on too few specimens to have arrived at his con- 

 clusions. 



It happens to be one of our most common species of butterfly 

 in Trinidad (West Indies), where I have had opportunities of 

 observing the metamorphoses very closely. 



Its food plant with us is the " Wild Ipecacuanha," a very 

 common shrub, growing in every locality of the island, and I have 

 collected hundreds of chrysalids, which were invariably of the 

 green type. 



I have likewise however bred them in confinement, and the 

 results of my investigations force me to come to the conclusion 

 that they do not respond to artificially prepared surroundings, for 

 the following reasons : 



(i) Every chrysalis found in its natural element has been 

 invariably of the green type. 



(2) In confinement I obtained specimens of a palish grey type, 

 with others varying from that to a reddish tint. 



(3) In the first case every specimen produced a perfect insect. 



(4) In the second case the great majority never hatched, and 

 those that did produced imperfect types. 



I am therefore led to believe that these variations of colours 

 are due to a diseased state of the insect consequent upon its 

 confinement. 



I may also add that this insect is a peculiarly favoured one, 

 reproducing itself very rapidly owing to its being unpalatable 

 and disagreeable to birds and other foraging creatures. 



The caterpillar, though bright and showy and therefore very 

 conspicuous, feeds independently on the shrub above mentioned 

 and in localities environed by enemies, whilst the imago flies slowly 

 and unconcernedly ; this last form is likewise distasteful ; so much 

 so that it has given rise to one of the most prominent cases of 

 protective mimicry in the case of the female of Hypolininas 

 misippus, which has succeeded in mimicking D. chrysippus to such 

 a degree of perfection that an unexperienced eye would scarcely 

 distinguish the two species on the wing. 



