51" MR. TRIM EN ON MIMETIC ANALOGIES AMONG AFRICAN BUTTERFLIES. 



those of the southern examples of Hippocoon ; but the hind wings and the broad inner- 

 raargmal \mce in the fore wings are coloured brick-red instead of white ; and the butterfly 

 thu lx'romei «'i vrvy fair imitation of Danais Chrysippus*. This form of ? is even 

 rarer th.ui 1L pocoot/, the number of specimens that I have seen in collections bein<* 

 >even only, including two that I had the good fortune to capture in the Cape Colony^ 

 one ;.t B ti j ma, and the other at Plettenberg Bay f . Professor Westwood (loc. cit.) states 



that Trophoi i is a native of Guinea as well as Kaffraria. 



We have thus, as it appears to me, a most remarkable case of polymorphism in the 

 remain of Vvpilia .U<> rope— three of the four forms being direct mimickers respectively 

 of three prevalent African species of Danais, while the fourth, differing from all the 



Others, yet closely related by an intermediate variety to one of them, is probably modified, 



•sc of modification, in mimicry of some other protected butterfly, possibly not 



J)niniia 



+ 



( 



But another point remains for consideration. Papilio Merope (or its close ally) in 

 \I.Mi,,msciir, presents a female tailed and coloured like the male, and differing only in 

 the powmioil of a broad black bar on the costa of the fore wings, almost crossing the 



hsco,da] oelL That this is the rule in Madagascar cannot be doubted, as Mr. Plant's 

 "oil-nun contained a series of females presenting little or no variation. The examina- 

 tmn «t a number of examples from the island in question leads me to think that the form 



hen- pre**.* „ constant in 1)oth sexes> and ^ m ^ ^ ^ ag & ^.^ 



»«' "In. her we accord or refuse specific rank to P. Meriones matters little to those 

 "h„ hold thai unmistakably close alliance between two or more forms is at once the 

 ult and evidence of community of descent. Place the males from the island side bv 

 " « it I. hose from the continent of Africa, and perhaps few would be disposed to 

 '■' l ' ho former as specifically distinct from the latter ; and yet we find the female of 



id 



UHca Australia/ published in 18fii rr a* i_ 



• A curio,, ° ,,. , T. , f0nnSare '" th ° BerUn *—- ™« < Zoological Keeord' (1 866),p.4ol. 



ami example, taken (in company ^ p 



Tower, of ft, c„ld strcam q^ ., ;£"' "™ ^ -"WJ ««- ■"■* *V » South-eastern Africa, by Col. 

 W .hiuBh sp,,,, beiig obscu.vd ,hr„,ri fl", '"'j"™^' 6 bet ™* the »*»■*■ and Hippocoon forms, the 

 tlti lyofuotl th at g out Wlth a *ill-ochreons tint. 



■Cm form of 9 . " ^ CaCh ° CQasi< " 1 of "V mectin « with Troplionim, I took, in the same spot, a specimen 



rraedia 



term, this is not a true case of polymorphism , seeing that 



phenomenon is not yet absolutely co 1 " C ° nneCt ^ diffeient fom *- * am ^ UnS t0 admit 1 



o marked that the elimination f Th t ' • • ^ ^ f ° rmS that imitatc the three species of Danais are 



aire 



some extent two or moro rf ft* * intermediate or unstable character 



§ In the -ZZ Z the b 1 7 S ; *" **** * fc ™ k ° f m «* -tended period 

 «d the costal «W„„ ;. I :.v , ° f the ^ wi V s f »'™ ™<* sharper projections int 



serve to lin 





CTO 



The band 



while the tails are all fuscous exce t thTfc "* ^ ^^ and the intermar S inal black ed ^ n S is wantin »' 



N» and more rufous in tint ; antUn th " ^^ ° Chre ° US tip ' 0n the **&**&, the ochreous colouring is rather 



>nncr-mr ,inal region with brownish. " ? 



■ ™«««mw region with brownish Tho <m f #*v t ' mswmiU UC1A ' *""* 



^ a « lothing of brownish hairs • u, 1 tl k i and th ° raX are >" cllowisb -> and in * he c? almost concealed 



th « <? »• B colour, ,1 almost unifon.r 7^**°' " ^^"^ the ° rdinar >" dark s P ots ( savc some ver ^ faint traCCS in 



uuuormiy ot the same rmln vaIL^ „„ ±v . 



e same pale yellow as the upper surface of tho wings. 



