NYMPHALINJS. (Group NYMFUALINA.) 161 



settles, as far as I have noticed, with closed wings on a twig or branch. It some- 

 times, as Mr. Elwes points out (P. Z. S. 1888, 366), settles with open wings, but on 

 these occasions it has, I feel sure, no thought of enemies. It is particularly fond of 

 the juice from the bark of certain ti^ees, and eagerly sips up the ' sugar ' of moth 

 collectors. Stale beer, also old beer casks, are an irresistible attraction to these 

 butterflies " {id. Sikkim Gaz. 1894., 146). Capt. A. M. Lang says K. Hugelii " has a 

 very rapid, irregular pitching flight, now high over the tree tops, then low. It is 

 fond of the shelter of large trees, near the roots of which it suddenly pitches, and 

 when settled you may hunt long to see it, however carefully you have watched it 

 settle, so perfectly does it resemble a dead leaf " (Ent. Monthly Mag. 1864, 181). 



Mr. A. E,. Wallace writes : — " By far the most singular and most perfect 

 disguise I have ever met with in a Lepidopterous insect is that of a common Indian 

 butterfly, Kallima Inachis, and its Malayan ally {K. Buxtoni). I had the satisfaction 

 of observing the habits of the latter in Sumatra, where it is rather plentiful at the 

 end of the dry season. It is a large and showy insect when on the wing, the upper 

 surface being glossed with blue and purple, and the forewiugs crossed obliquely by 

 a broad band of rich orange. The under surface of the wings is totally different, 

 and is seen at a glance to I'esemble a dead leaf. The hindwings terminate in a little 

 tail, which forms the stalk of the leaf, and from this to the apex is a slightly curved 

 dark brown line representing the midrib. The transverse stride which cross the 

 discoidal cell in many butterflies are here continued so as to form lateral veins, and 

 the usual submarginal stria? on the hindwings, slightly modified, represent others 

 towards the base of the wing. But it is only when the habits of the insect are 

 observed that the disguise becomes manifest in all its perfection. This butterfly, 

 like many others, has the habit of resting upon a nearly vertical twig or branch, 

 with the wings closed together so as completely to conceal the upper surface. In 

 this position, the little tail of the hindwings exactly touches the branch, and we now 

 see "why it is always curved inwards a little ; for if it were quite straight, it would 

 hang clear of the branch, and thus fail to represent an attached leaf. There is a 

 little scallop or hollow on the margin of the forewings at the base, which serves to 

 conceal the head of the butterfly, which is very small for its size, and the long 

 antennfe are carried back and hidden between the folded wings. "When sitting on a 

 twig in the manner described, the insect is to all appearance a perfectly dry leaf, — 

 yet it is evident that its chances of escape would be much increased if it were 

 surrounded by real dry leaves instead of by greeu ones ; for if, when pursued, it 

 took shelter in a growing bush, it could hardly fail to be still a conspicuous object. 

 Marvellous to relate, it does possess the habit of almost invariably entering a bush 

 loaded with dead leaves, and is so instantly lost to sight, owing to its close resem- 

 blance to all the surrounding objects, that I doubt if the most vigilant fly-catcher 



VOL. IV. X 



