The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1885-02-14

examples of this nimetic power; imeam
! locusts These locusts on the upper
row have wing-cases of dusty color
| I caught them one noon in the middle
OF North street When they were rest
| inc could not tell the difference bel
tween them and the road, bat las seon
as they spread their wings / could see
and catch them.
Here's one all yellow"
eyes: that one found in a marsh,
down at Ocean Park, where all the
weeds and the soil were OF yellowish
hue. just look. at, the difference be-
tween this and the. first one. Ilrs one
has white wings. with black line
across them; the body is white, and the
wing cases look as it sand had been
sprinkled over Them These came from
the beach between Old Orchard and
Ocean Park If their wings were folded
it would be very difficult to distinguish
them from the dry white sand. I
watched long time one day to see it II
could find any ON the sand, and fire.
quently was astonished to have one
fy up in my face when had just lookedi
carefully over the place where 1T had
been lying.
"Here is q Turner's butterfly. III
some time in spring you should see one
of these on the ground and not know
what it was, you would be likely to say,
rs did the time l saw one: ooh, what
pretty leaf with black lines on it!'l
and you would be very much astonlshed,
as was, to see it fly away.
"This Thilodice butterfly is SO yellow
that If you were to see it on a dande-
lion you would be puzzled to know
where the dandelion left off and the
butterfly began, or vice versa If a
Vanessa Antiope butterfly was on an.
apple tree Il have noticed they prefer
russell apple trees), with its wings
closed, could not tell which was thel
bark or which the under side Of the
butterfly, were it not for slow, wav-'
ing motion of the wings, as if it were
tanning itself.
'Onc day, when was hurrying up
North street, I saw, as / thought. =
: brown leaf drop down at my side. irom'
one of the trees. What pretty leafs
OH and, running after a very pretty
butterfly, waited till it settled, put my
hat over, and so caught it. Look at its
under. side, boys, and you will see it
might easily be mistaken fora leaf.
"These purplish,s clear-winged, day
flying humming- bird moths feed on the
big thistle heads, and it requires seeing
eyes to discover them.
Beetles have this mimetic power to
a great extent, but have only few to
show you. This one looks like a little
ball of dirt. Sometimes this kind of
beetle is mistaken for ball of dirt, and
sometimes the dirt for the beetle.
II wonder il, when you have been
eating blackberries, you have suddenly
noted sharp, disagreeable taste in
your mouthp'
II have" said John, s'and mighty
disagreeable taste it was, too
$50 have /, ;" said Lincoln.
''Well, perhaps you know, then,
that you have eaten BURBERRY bug.
This is about the size, shape and color
OF green burberry, and if you were
eating your berries in the pasture, moth
ing would be more likely than that you
should eat some bugs, too.
II have only one more example of
mimetic beetles here, and this is the
painted elytus, which lives on--the
gcden-rod. II is marked with green
and yellow, thus mimicking the color OF
the flower.
Perhaps You are wondering why in-
sects have this powerP I think that the
Creator gave It to them so they might
escape from enemies that were not
bright enough to see through it. ~.
Helen Montgomery, in Christian Union.