stent with the theological doctrines of his day. (See Kirby and
Spence, "An Introduction to Entomology" (1st edition), London, Vol. II.
1817, page 223.)

The last note I have selected from Burchell's manuscript refers to one
of the chief mimics of the highly protected Lycid beetles. The whole
assemblage of African insects with a Lycoid colouring forms a most
important combination and one which has an interesting bearing upon the
theories of Bates and Fritz Muller. This most wonderful set of
mimetic forms, described in 1902 by Guy A.K. Marshall, is composed
of flower-haunting beetles belonging to the family Lycidae, and the
heterogeneous group of varied insects which mimic their conspicuous and
simple scheme of colouring. The Lycid beetles, forming the centre or
"models" of the whole company, are orange-brown in front for about
two-thirds of the exposed surface, black behind for the remaining third.
They are undoubtedly protected by qualities which make them excessively
unpalatable to the bulk of insect-eating animals. Some experimental
proof of this has been obtained by Mr Guy Marshall. What are the forms
which surround them? According to the hypothesis of Bates they would be,
at any rate mainly, palatable hard-pressed insects which only hold their
own in the struggle for life by a fraudulent imitation of the trade-mark
of the successful and powerful Lycidae. According to Fritz Muller's
hypothesis we should expect that the mimickers would be highly
protected, successful and abundant species, which (metaphorically
speaking) have found it to their advantage to possess an advertisement,
a danger-signal, in common with each other, and in common with the
beetles in the centre of the group.

How far does the constitution of this wonderful combination--the largest
and most complicated as yet known in all the world--convey to us the
idea of mimicry working along the lines supposed by Bates or those
suggested by Muller? Figures 1 to 52 of Mr Marshall's coloured plate
("Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond." 1902, plate XVIII. See also page 517, where
the group is analysed.) represent a set of forty-two or forty-three
species or forms of insects captured in Mashonaland, and all except two
in the neighbourhood of Salisbury. The combination includes six species
of Lycidae; nine beetles of five groups all specially protected by
nauseous qualities, Telephoridae, Melyridae, Phytophaga, Lagriidae,
Cantharidae; six Longicorn beetles; one Coprid beetl