movements, must strongly tend to baffle a pursuer. Heliconius melpomene has, 

 as I have already mentioned, a still simpler 'ruptive' flight-pattern (on its upper 

 side), and one which seems but poorly fitted to disguise it among green leaves 

 alone. Some of the beautiful Hummingbird Papilios of South America have 

 much the same coloration, with the addition of a pair of sea-green or pale-blue 

 spots. Such are Papilio gargasus and several kindred species. This colora- 

 tion is admirably fitted to disguise its wearers when they hover, hummingbird- 

 like, over, or momentarily perch on, gay-colored and brightly lighted flowers 

 which relieve against shadowy underspaces. But Heliconius melpomene, as we 

 have seen it, is less of a blossom-haunter, and with its still simpler pattern, of 

 black and red alone, it is not always as inconspicuous, even in its transitory 

 flower-attendance, as patterns could make it, — as patterns in fact do make 

 many of its relatives.* Like the Scarlet Tanager, however, and other some- 

 what anomalously costumed woodland birds, melpomene is a haunter of dense, 

 protecting foliage. Through the mazes of woodland greenery it threads its 

 rather leisurely way with wonderful adroitness, flying with short wing-beats 

 and much sailing, and its skill in dodging in and out and round about amid 

 leaves doubtless makes it a difficult quarry for flycatchers. There are many 

 other remarkable South American tropical butterflies of the same long-winged 

 type. Especially noteworthy are those of one of the so-called "Batesian and 

 Miillerian mimicry groups" — such species for instance as Lycorea atergatis, 

 Tithorea megara, Mechanitis veritabilis, etc. Their general scheme of colora- 

 tion shows much affinity with that of Heliconius charitonia, and much also with 

 that of certain t5^es of the terrestrial tight-folding class. So also in their habits 

 they are nearly midway between the two extremes. They perch low down in 

 the forest, often very near or even on the ground, and their costumes contain a 

 good deal of rich ground-brown — the universal brown of the tropical under- 

 world, described in Chapter XIX. But though not, like Heliconius charitonia, 

 sara, melpomene, etc., truly 'aerial,' they are restless, and spend much time on 

 wing, often rising into the borders of that region of abundant foliage and fre- 



* See the interpolation on p. 214. 

 223 



