

s 



MR. TRIMEN ON MIMETIC ANALOGIES AMONG AFRICAN BUTTERFLIES. 513 



resemblance borne to Danais Chrysippus by the female Diadcma Bolina, Linn., as thi 

 is one of the most generally known cases of mimicry in existence. The Diadem 

 accompanies the Danais throughout its range, with the single exception of the European 

 shore of the Mediterranean— and is even recorded from Australia and South America . 

 regions in which Chrysippus does not occur. It is very seldom that one receives a 

 collection, however small, containing Chrysippus, in which Bolina is absent, I hate been 

 careful to note all the recorded localities of specimens of both butterflies that have come 

 under my notice, and find that the two coexist in twenty-two different localities, in 

 addition to which there are seven instances of their occurrence in closely adjacent 

 districts f. Still more interesting is the fact that the ? JHadema presents two varieties 

 exactly corresponding with the varieties of Chrysippus mentioned above, 



viz. one m 



the hind 



gs are more or less clouded with white, and another (Inaria, C 



» r 



that has the apical black and white of the fore wings replaced by the brick-red 



colour {. In each of these cases, I have not succeeded in finding more than one locality 



here the variety of Chrysippus is known to be accompanied by the corresponding 



iety of Bolina, viz. Sierra Leone, where the white-clouded form of both butte 



s 



occurs, and D'Urban, Port Natal, whence I have both Dorippus and In aria; but 

 there seems little reason to doubt that they are to be found together in many other 

 places, when we consider how widely the varieties of both insects range. 



In nature, the imitation of Chrysippus by the ? Bolina is singularly deceptive, as well 

 when the butterfly is settled on flowers as when it is on the wing ; and it requires a keen 

 eye and close observation to distinguish one insect from the other. I am disposed to 

 imagine that the closeness of the mimicry even deceives the male Chrysippus ; for, on 

 one occasion, at Port Natal, in a spot where the Danais was abundant, I was for some 

 time watching two females of Bolina that I had carefully marked, and was as much 

 surprised as interested to observe a Chrysippus pertinaciously chase one of the Bolina 



about the place. The female Diadema naturally gave Chrysippus no encouragement 



• 



and, being more active on the wing, repeatedly evaded her pursuer§. Waiting to Bee 

 the close of this singular chase, I unfortunately lost sight of the Chrysippus among thr 

 other specimens floating about ; but I captured the ? Bolina, and have no doubt that 

 the pursuer was of the male sex. 



I have already noticed the rare form of the female Bapilio Merope (P. Trophonius, 

 Westw.), which mimicks D. Chrysippus. This imitation is not by any means as close 



Regarding the latter region, it seems to be doubtful whether D. BoUna has succeeded in naturalizing itself in 

 ^y of the localities mentioned by authors ; but the insect certainly appears to have been taken in Guiana (Bo. iuval 

 and D °ubleday), Surinam (Cramer and Boisduval), Cayenne (Godart), and Para (Hopffer). 



t Even in the oceanic islands to which Chrysippus extends, such as St. Helena (Coll. Burchcll). Bourbon, and 

 Mauritius, Bolina amoears as it* ,nn«t,nt ,onn„nion : but I have not heard of the latter s occurrence in Tenenffe, where 



Simil 



hind 





2 Bolina is sometimes found with a white suffusio 



§ 



<J Bolina, when pursuin 



"I • 1 



wings constantly and 



O" 



adj 



Mr - J- H. Bowk( 



V 0L. XXVI. 



Kaffraria 



4 



