is to be crossed, such as a road, two or three of the females will
fly across first, before the male will venture to do so, and he is
always more careful to get himself concealed amongst the foliage
than his mates.

I walked some distance into the forest along swampy paths cut by
charcoal burners, and saw many beautiful and curious insects.
Amongst the numerous butterflies, large blue Morphos and narrow,
weak-winged Heliconidae, striped and spotted with yellow, red, and
black, were the most conspicuous and most characteristic of
tropical America. Amongst the beetles I found a curious longicorn
(Desmiphora fasciculata), covered with long brown and black hairs,
and closely resembling some of the short, thick, hairy caterpillars
that are common on the bushes. Other closely allied species hide
under fallen branches and logs, but this one clung exposed amongst
the leaves, its antennae concealed against its body, and its
resemblance to a caterpillar so great, that I was at first deceived
by it. It is well known that insectivorous birds will not touch a
hairy caterpillar, and this is only one of numberless instances
where insects, that have some special protection against their
enemies, are closely imitated by others belonging to different
genera, and even different orders. Thus, wasps and stinging ants
have hosts of imitators amongst moths, beetles, and bugs, and I
shall have many curious facts to relate concerning these mimetic
resemblances. To those not acquainted with Mr. Bates's admirable
remarks on mimetic forms, I must explain that we have to speak of
one species imitating another, as if it were a conscious act, only
on account of the poverty of our language. No such idea is
entertained, and it would have been well if some new term had been
adopted to express what is meant. These deceptive resemblances are