Reginald Crundall Punnett

“ Returning now to the case of P. polytes, there is not the least doubt that to the ordinary man accustomed to use his eyes the A form of female is easily distinguishable from P. aristolochiae, as also is the H form from P. hector. The two models have a feature in common in which they both differ from their respective mimics. In both of them the body and head are largely of a brilliant scarlet, whereas neither of the mimics has a touch of red on the body. In the living insect when the body is swelled by its natural juices the effect is very striking [7] . ”

“ My experience was that whether at rest or flying the species are perfectly distinct, and I find it difficult to imagine that a bird whose living depended in part upon its ability to discriminate between the different forms would be likely to be misled. ”

“ But although natural selection may have had nothing to do with its production, it may nevertheless have come into play in connection with the conservation of the new form. If the new form possesses some advantage over the pre-existing one from which it sprang, is it not conceivable that natural selection will come into operation to render it the predominant form? ”

“ Are the resemblances of the mimics to the models when alive so close that they might be expected to deceive such enemies [5] as prey upon them and have no difficulty in distinguishing the male form of polytes from P. aristolochiae or P. hector?
To answer for a bird is a hazardous undertaking. We know so little of the bird's perceptive faculties whether of taste or sight. ”

“ Actually this can hardly be true, for the mode of flight constitutes one of the most striking differences between model and mimic. P. hector and P. aristolochiae fly much in the same way. They give one the impression of flying mainly with their fore wings, which vibrate rapidly, so that the course of the insect, though not swift, is on the whole sustained and even. The flight of all the different forms of polytes is similar and quite distinct from that of the models. It is a strong but rather heavy and lumbering up-and-down flight. ”

“ Mimetics only. The males are in all cases alike to look at but it must nevertheless be supposed that they differ in their transmitting powers. In fact the evidence all points to there being three different kinds of male corresponding to the three different kinds of female. But they cannot shew any difference outwardly because there is always present in the male a factor which inhibits the production of the mimetic pattern even though the factor for that pattern be present. ”

“ It is a common butterfly throughout the greater part of India and Ceylon, and closely allied forms, probably to be reckoned in the same species, reach eastwards through China as far as Hongkong. P. polytes is one of those species which exhibit polymorphism in the female sex. Three distinct forms of female are known, of which one is like the male, while the other two are very different. Indeed for many years they were regarded as distinct species, and given definite specific names. ”

“ On the other hand, the olfactory apparatus is relatively poorly developed in birds, and from this we can only argue that the senses of smell and taste are not especially acute. Really we can do little more than to describe how these mimetic resemblances appear to our own senses, and to infer that they do not appear very different to the bird. ”