Cases of Protective Resemblance, Mimicry, etc. 369 



and elytra. When so attacked the beetle would then fall 

 to the ground and probably escape. I sent this specimen 

 to Professor Poulton, who agrees with my interpretation. 

 I sent live specimens of the common C. viridis, F. (which 

 is found on thistles, its green colour rendering it very hard 

 to see) to the Zoological Gardens. They were eaten by all 

 the birds they were offered to. 



Cassida mnrriea, L. 



This species presents a very interesting case ; it has two 

 forms, a red and a green. The green form is protected by 

 its colour on the green leaves of the food-plant, flea-bane. 

 The red form is very like a lady-bird. When Mr. J. J. 

 Walker and I took the beetle near Oxford, he was taken 

 in by it at first. He saw the first specimen, a red one, 

 and looked at it for a short time, thinking it was only 

 the common Coccinella scptempunctata. Professor Poulton 

 compares this case with Precis scsamus, among butterflies, 

 which has a cryptic underside and habits, while its wet 

 season form (P. octavia) is very conspicuous and probably 

 pseudaposematic. 



Tenebrionid^e. 



Opatmtm sabidosum, Gyll. 



Mr. Holland points out that in certain districts this 

 beetle is covered with chalk, etc. He says, " The intervals 

 between the rugosities of their upper sides are filled with 

 chalk and other dirt." They are clean in some districts, 

 but are generally hidden at the roots of herbage, etc. I 

 should say that they are always cryptic and frequently 

 allocryptic. 



Plfialeria cadaverina, F. 



This beetle, which is only found on the sea-coast, is 

 coloured exactly like the sand on which it occurs. 



Platydcma molaceum, F., and Scaphidemct mctcdlicum, F. 



These two species, the former of which is a metallic 

 violet and the latter a bronze, closely resemble Phytophaga. 



Helops pcdlidus, Curt. 



This is another sand-coloured beetle closely resembling 

 its habitat, the sea-shore. 



TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1901. — PART III. (SEPT.) 25 



