African Entomology 



places where butterflies are common these insects become 

 their main food supply. These birds are a source of con- 

 siderable annoyance to the collector, as a male and female 

 bird will often take up a position at a mud-hole or other place 

 frequented by scarce species, where they continue to disturb 

 and eat the butterflies, often under one's very nose. They 

 seem to have a partiahty for Papilios and Pierids, but 

 apparently leave most red and red-brown butterflies alone 

 when there are others. These birds know the Acraeids quite 

 well, and even amongst a collection of red and red-brown 

 butterflies will always select for instance a Lachnoptera iole 

 or columbina and leave the Acraeids untouched, 



I have seen these wagtails eat various species of Papilio, 

 Charaxes, Euphcedra, Diestogyna, Pierids, Lachnoptera, 

 LyccBnids, Hesperids, and Nymphalids. 



In the crops of many wild birds which have come under 

 my notice I have never seen a part of any butterfly, but pupae 

 (and of course larvae) frequently. The contents of the crop 

 of one guinea-fowl that I shot contained thirty-four pupae 

 of one species of large moth. 



Next to the pied wagtail in point of destructiveness to 

 butterflies come frogs and the smaller lizards, which catch 

 and eat a great number, principally in places where the 

 butterflies come to drink and feed. Both lizards and frogs 

 seem partial to Lycaenids and Pierids. They also leave the 

 Acraeids and red and red-brown butterflies severely alone. 



After the lizards may be mentioned the large stink ants 

 {Paltothyreus) which, with the larger dragon-flies are, as far 

 as my observation goes, the only African insects that 

 will directly catch a live butterfly with their mandibles. I 

 have watched stink ants at different times in twos or threes 



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