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Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 82.djvu/400

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396
THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY

while the male of P. urvilliana, a Solomon Islands species, is marked with blue. The absence of red is noteworthy,[1] although it is not complete, several of the species having a little red on the anterior edge of the thorax or back of the head, or on the under side of the thorax. In the allied tailed series (including such forms as P. hector and coon) light red spots are frequently developed on the hind wings. The American (neotropical) Aristolochia Papilios, which are much smaller on the average than the oriental, have the markings and form for the most part much like the orange and black oriental group (P. darsius of Ceylon, etc.), but where there is orange on the hind wings of the darsius group, it is usually bright red in the neotropical series, though occasionally orange, or orange shaded with red. Most of the American species have well-defined patches on the anterior wings also, but these are green, yellow, white or rarely blue, never red. American Papilios of the lysithous group resemble the Aristolochia Papilios of the same region in the most amazing way, and these mimetic butterflies are said to usually imitate the sluggish flight of their models. When we have figures of all these insects and their allies before us, we can see how some of the most peculiar types are connected with quite ordinary ones by intermediates, and how each group works on a certain series of available colors and patterns to reach its results.

  1. P. hypolitus Cr. (male) is figured as having red on the abdomen. This is probably a mistake, as the description says dark yellow.