MIMICRY IN EAST AFRICAN BUTTERFLIES 85 
has also a large white blotch in the middle of the hind wings, 
and that prevalent in our own area wants the black tip and 
white spots, though it sometimes has the white blotch in the 
hind wings. It is mimicked first of all by the female of Hypo- 
limnas misippus, found like its model in India and South 
China as well as Africa, which has forms corresponding to those 
of the model. This only applies to the female, the male being 
a blue-black insect with two large white blotches in the fore 
wings and one in the hind wings. These forms, however, 
are not confined to special areas to the same extent as in the 
case of the model. The plain brown form, for instance, is 
common in countries where the corresponding form of the 
model is rarely, if ever, seen. Another mimic which also has 
three forms like those of the model is Acraea encedon, and, in this 
case, though the mimic belongs to a distasteful genus and is 
certainly a Mullerian mimic, it is remarkable that its forms 
in different areas correspond in their proportions to those of 
the model to a very large extent. In our own area we have one 
mimic at least which, so far as is known, only resembles the 
plain brown form and this is another Acraea, A. johnstoni, which 
also, as we shall see later, has forms resembling species which 
are very different from L. chrysippus. There is also a rare 
Lycaenid butterfly, Mimacraea Dohertyi, which resembles this 
brown form, but this may possibly be a variety of M. Marshalli 
which has not yet been recorded from British East Africa. 
Another very remarkable mimic is Papilio dardanus, which is 
so variable and has so many forms that it has received a whole 
host of names and is better known as P. Merope. 
The form resembling L. chrysippus is always scarce, though 
even a form like the plain brown L. chrysippus has been 
recorded from Nairobi. The fact is that L. chrysippus is 
especially characteristic of the open country and is rarely found 
in forests, while the Papilio prefers forests or at least woodlands. 
Here again the male is a very' different insect. It is creamy 
yellow in colour with a black border in the fore wings and a 
black submarginal band, often broken up into spots, in the hind 
wings, and it is an interesting fact that nearly allied species in 
Abyssinia and Madagascar have females with long tails resem- 
bling the five different mimics belonging to very different 
