66 BUTTERFLIES 



flies have the habit of turning up their wings when 

 resting, so as to expose the under surface only. 

 The under surface is coloured like the leaves, twigs, 

 and especially the flowers on which they most 

 love to perch, for it is then that they are most 

 exposed to the attacks of enemies and have the 

 most need for protection. To appreciate this it is 

 necessary to see them in their haunts, and to watch 

 them at home. The best marked instance is Kal- 

 lima, which is met with in India, the Malay Archi- 

 pelago and Sumatra. It is very common in these 

 places, and is a large showy butterfly with orange 

 and purple colouring on the upper surface, and is 

 a rapid flier frequenting dry forests. It always 

 settles where there is some dead and decaying 

 foliage, for the colouring on the under surface of 

 the wings bears a remarkable resemblance to that 

 of a dead leaf, and when the wings are turned up 

 and the head and body hidden between them, it is 

 often very difficult to distinguish them from dead 

 leaves, the resemblance being rendered even more 

 close by the short tail which looks like the stalk 

 of a leaf, and by the markings on the under surface 

 which closely imitate the mid-rib and veins of a leaf. 

 Speaking of this insect Mr. Wallace says : " The 

 colour is very remarkable for its extreme amount 

 of variability, from deep reddish-brown to olive or 

 pale yellow, hardly two specimens being exactly 

 alike, but all coming within the range of leaves in 

 various stages of decay. Still more curious is the 

 fact that the paler wings, which imitate leaves most 

 decayed, are usually covered with small black dots, 



