VALIDITY OF SOME FORMS OF MIMICRY. 709 



string; when eventually I allowed it to take it, it ate it readily. 

 The same lizard ate T. hecahe. 



7.3.09. Another lizard ran out from its bush and caught 

 Terias lihythea. A Pajnlio aristolochice, a very scarce species in 

 N'Eliya, caused great excitement in a male and female on the 

 same bush ; they rushed out to capture it, then drew back 

 apparently frightened at its size and at length would have nothing 

 to do with it. Offered to another it waa seized by the fore wing 

 and a part only eaten, the I'eason being that it was frightened of 

 me. Offered again to the first pair they took no notice of it, but 

 one made a jump of quite six inches and snapped up a fly which 

 had settled on a leaf. This shows that they were hungry at the 

 time. 



15,3.09, A fresh Ajypias galene 2 I'eadily taken, but not so 

 eageily as by another which had I'ecently changed its skin and to 

 which some of the slough was clinging. This was very hungry 

 and made quite a respectable jump at A. galene S , which it caught 

 round the body. Immediately afterwards it devoured Catojisilia 

 pomona. 



15.3.09. Ofiered Pap'dio [Menelaides) hector to a remarkably 

 fine lizard, which caught it by the base of the hind wings ; these it 

 ate very slowly and dropped the rest, no doubt because it was too 

 dry. The same thing happened with Telchinia vioke and another 

 lizard. These two butterflies do not occur in N'Eliya, 



16.3.09. A female moth, 6'pilosoma melanopsis, Fam. Arctiidse, 

 with remarkably large brilliant crimson body and pink hind 

 wings, the dull fore wings being removed, was at once taken by 

 a lizard, which ran some distance after it. It proved a very 

 considerable mouthful which took quite half an hour to get rid of. 



During Mai-ch, April, and May I noticed a very considerable 

 number of butterflies, more particularly Argyntiis hyperhius, with 

 pieces taken out of their wings, usually the posterior portion of 

 the secondaries. I have no doubt that almost all these injuries 

 were caused by this species of Calotes which is very numerous at 

 N'Eliya. I might almost say there is a specimen on every bush. 



19.3,09. A Euplcea core S proved very attractive ; a half- 

 grown lizard ran more than a yard out of the hedge and seized it 

 by the head as it lay on the ground. With the same species a 

 large male made a dart at Danais fivmata attached as usual to a 

 line of silk, caught it by the hind wing and devoured the whole of 

 it, A smaller individual seated on a bush of salvia became highly 

 excited by Polyommatas boetica with its wings closed, and ran all 

 over the plant after it, eventually catching it by the body; imme- 

 diately afterwards it ate three Terias hecahe, one after the other, 



24,4.09, A female lizard, and one I have frequently expei-imented 

 on, ran from its hiding place and caught Pyrameis cardui by 

 the head after considering for a moment its cryptic underside. 

 Another scrambled over its bush in the usual waj^ and seized 

 Lethe daretis 5 by the hind wing. 



These lizards were very tenacious in their grasp : as a rule, after 



