176 PEOTECTIVE EESEMBLANCE IN ANIMALS. 



as tlie most perfect example of this kind of jJi'otective 

 coloration ; and numerous other examples will at once 

 present themselves to the reader. 



Well known as are these comparatively simple instances 

 of protective resemblances, there ai'e, however, others of 

 a more striking nature, where the animal either resembles 

 the form of some inanimate object, or that of some other 

 kind of animal which has especial means of jirotection ; 

 and since these resemblances are less generally known, 

 they will form the subject of the present chapter. The 

 term "protective resemblance" is generally ajsplied to those 

 instances where the animal resembles more or less closely 

 an inanimate object, and thus renders itself inconspicuous; 

 while the instances where one animal assumes the aj)pear- 

 ance of another, and thereby becomes conspicuous, are 

 classed under the term '' mimicry." It will, however, be 

 obvious that both these kinds of resemblances are near 

 akin, and are far in advance of jarotective coloration, pure 

 and simple, where no imitation of form takes place. We 

 shall first mention some instances of the imitation of the 

 forms of inanimate objects Ijy animals, and then refer 

 to those cases where other animals are the objects of 

 imitation. 



Some of the best examples of what we shall take leave 

 to call inanimate mimicry are to be found among insects, 

 and we shall take our first case from among the butter- 

 flies. All are pirobably aware that a large nunilier of these 

 insects, such as our common j^eacock and tortoiseshell 

 butterflies, while brilliantly coloured on the upper surfaces 

 of their wings, have the under surfaces of the same of a 

 dull, sombre hue ; and most of us have doubtless been 

 almost startled at the suddenness with which one of these 

 gaitdy creatures seems to vanish altogether when it settles 

 on dark ground or the rough bark of a tree, and at once 

 closes its wings. Here, then, we have an instance of 

 ordinary protective coloration, without any attempt at 

 mimicry of form. There is, however, a peculiar group of 

 butterflies allied to our own purple emperor, inhabiting 

 northern India and the Malayan region, which have gone 

 far beyond this simple kind of protective resemblance, 



