president’s address. 
161 
tailed, the females tailless ; they differ entirely in colour 
and markings, and the shape of the wings, and more than 
this, they are polymorphic, i.e., they present among them- 
selves several distinct forms. Now the reason for all this 
variability is that in Africa is found a group of Butterflies 
belonging to the family of the Danaidae, viz., the genus 
Amauris, which is confined to Africa, and the members of 
which are especially protected by being very distasteful to 
the creatures which would prey upon them, and it is these 
Danaidce which the males of P. dardamus mimic ; but 
there are no species of Amauris found in Abyssinia or 
the Islands, consequently in those localities the females of 
dardanus do not differ from the males materially ; but in 
the other parts of Africa there are not one but several species 
of Amauris, and these are all mimicked more or less closely 
by the females of Dardanus inhabiting the same parts, and 
it has been found by breeding them that the same batch 
of eggs will produce females of two distinct forms. This 
example of mimicry, like the last, must, I think, be regarded 
as Batesian mimicry. I would now direct your attention 
to an example of Mullerian mimicry, i.e., where the resemblance 
exists between the two species of Butterflies, both of which 
are specially protected by being distasteful to their enemies ; 
in these cases two or more species are supposed to make use 
of a common advertisement. They both bear the same 
motto, “ Touch me not,” “ Cave canem,” and the advantage 
to the insects themselves is supposed to be this, viz., that the 
number which fall victims to young and inexperienced foes 
is divided between three or four or more similarly coloured 
and protected insects instead of falling all upon one. These 
danger advertisements are common amongst insects. The 
uneatable caterpillars of the Cinnabar Moth are both from 
their colour and their habits very conspicuous on the stems of 
the Ragwort, and the same may be said of the Caterpillars of 
the yellow-tailed Moth. A very remarkable instance of this 
M 2 
