92 



AFRICAN MIMETIC BUTTERFLIES 



PAPILIO DARDANUS. 



Brown, 111. Zool., p. 52, pi. 22 (1776). 



Cramer {merope cP'), Pap. Exot., ii, p. 87, 



pi 151, ff. A, B (1777), and pi. 378, ff. D, E 



(1781). 



Fabricius {brutus o^), Spec. Ins., ii, p. 13 

 (1781). 



Palis. Beauvois (sulfurea cr^), Ins. Af. et 



Amer., p. 46, pi. i (1805). 

 Fabricius {hippocoon 5), Ent. Syst. (3), i, 



P- 38 (1793)- 

 Cramer [niavius Pap. Exot., iii, p. 71, 

 pi. 234, f. A (1779). 



PAPILIO CENEA. 



Stoll.Suppl. Cram., p. 134, pi. 29,ff. i, ia(i79i), 



Godart (brutus <f), Enc. Meth., ix, p. 69 (1819). 



— (rechila 5), Enc. Meth., ix, p. 183 (1819). 

 Trimen {merope o^), Rhop. Afr. Austr., p. 11 



(1862). 



— {merope <y^ and 5), Trans. Linn. Soc, xxvi. 

 p. 508, pi. 43, ff. I, 3, 4 (1869). 



— (cenea 6^ and 5), Trans. Ent. Soc, p. 169, 

 pi. 9, ff. I, 2 (1881). 



Haase {hippocoonides j). Bib. Zool. (8), i, p. 70, 

 pi. 2, f. 8 (1891). 



PAPILIO DARDANUS POLYTROPHUS. 



Rothschild and Jordan, Novit. Zool., x, p. 488 

 (1903)- 



PAPILIO DARDANUS TIBULLUS. 



Kirby {tibullm o^), Proc. R. Dub. Soc. (2), ii, 

 p. 338 (1880). 



Boisduval (westermanni), Spec. Gen. Lep. i., 



p. 372 (1836). 

 Doubld. and Hew. {dionysos 5) Gen. D. Lep., 



p. 20, pi. 3, f. 4 (1846). 

 Aurivillius (ab. nioboides 5), Hew. Exot. 



Butt. Pap., pi. 12, f. 39 (1869). 

 Aurivillius (ab. niobe j). Hew., 1. c, f. 4a. 

 — Rhop. Aeth., p. 464 (1898). 

 Trimen (var. planemoides 5), Proc. Ent. Soc, 



p. 40 (1903). 

 Rothschild and Jordan {dardanus dardanus), 



Novit. Zool., xii, p. 187 (1905). 



Westwood {trophonius $), An. Nat. Hist., ix, 



p. 38 (1842). 

 — Arcana Ent., i., p. 153, pi. 39, f. i, 2 



(1845). 



Aurivillius, Rhop. Aeth., p. 465 (1898). 

 Rothschild and ]ord?LT\{darda'nus cenea), Novit. 



Zool., xii, p. 187 (1905). 

 Trimen {dorippoides 5), Trans. Ent. Soc, 



p. 554 (1908). 

 Vovlion{trimeni^), Trans. Ent. Soc, p. 283(1906). 



Poulton {trimeni 5), Trans. Ent. Soc, p. 283 

 (1906). 



Rothschild and Jordan, Novit. Zool., xii, p. 187 

 (1905)- 



Plate X, Figs. 1-15. 



The case of Papilio dardanus and its various races and subspecies presents by far the most 

 extraordinary instance of butterfly mimicry as yet known, not only in Africa but throughout 

 the world. The earliest reference to the species is that of Brown in 1776 as given above. The 

 male was figured by Cramer in 1777, but was shown without tails to the hind-wings, an error 

 due no doubt to his having access to only one example, and that a damaged one.^ The species 

 presents an astonishing instance of female polymorphism, and a glance at the principal 

 references given above shows how numerous are the forms under which it has been described. 

 In 1779 Cramer figured a black and white butterfly which he called niavius, and in 1791 

 Stoll figured in his supplement to Cramer's great work the butterfly which was described as 

 Papilia cenea. It was not until many years later that the true relations obtaining between 

 these butterflies were even suggested, and the story of the gradual solution of the mystery 

 is one of the romances of natural history. At this stage the reader will do well to examine 

 Plate X, on which the principal varieties of this butterfly are figured, and reference to the 

 illustrations will be of material assistance in following the descriptions. 



As has already been described, the publication of Bates's paper on mimicry in South 

 American butterflies caused naturalists in other parts of the world to investigate the 

 phenomenon in those regions with which they were familiar. Wallace contributed a valuable 

 ^ In his subsequent figure (pi. 378, D, e) Cramer gave the tails. 



