Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 2 (1878).djvu/418

394 That this was no mere chance resemblance was evident from the nature of the illustrations exhibited. Thus, the under sides of the wings of two examples from Senegambia were of a dull brown colour, the soil of that region consisting of reddish sand and ferruginous clay, while specimens from Calabar and Camaroons had their under sides coloured light brown, with numerous small white spots, the soil of these countries being composed of light brown clay and small quartz pebbles. Similarly, examples from Natal and the Mozambique coast approached in colour those of Senegambia, that of the soil being nearly the same. Specimens taken at Magila, in the Ussambara country, were of two varieties, one of a dull red colour, that of the soil, and the other brownish, with white spots, the habit of the insect being to settle both upon the ground and also upon granite boulders, with which that region abounds. Five examples from the banks of the Atbara, in Nubia, showed all the varieties occurring in other localities, this being accounted for by the colour of the various deposits of sediment likely to be made by a river passing through such a series of geological formations as occur between Abyssinia and Nubia. It would thus appear that A. Meleagris, through some original resemblance in the coloration of its wings to certain conditions of soil, has been able to resist the attacks of its natural enemies, and thus, meanwhile departing from the habits of the family to which it belongs, had acquired the power of distributing itself throughout a large area of country.

Mr. Jenner Weir considered that Mr. Rutherford's views might be extended to the colour variations of Hipparchia semele.

Mr. Wood-Mason referred to the many cases of protective resemblance exhibited in the Mantidæ.

Major Elwes considered that too much stress was laid on " protective resemblances," and from a study of the birds of Northern India, had come to the conclusion that the colour variation showed neither for nor against the theory.

Mr. Distant adduced some instances of what appeared to be protective coloration, and stated that he thought in many cases, without further knowledge, the term "assimilative coloration" would be as correct as the designation of "protective resemblance."

The President alluded to the beautiful protective adaptation of coloration in the wings of the lepidopterous genus Kallima.

Mr. J. Jenner Weir exhibited five specimens of Argynnis Paphia, which he had captured during the month of July in the New Forest, Hampshire. The first was a singular aberration of the male, having two well-defined white spots on the upper wings and two faint white spots on the lower wings; he had heard of similar specimens having been taken in former years, and one other was observed in the present year. The second was a normal specimen of the male, introduced for comparison with the third and