Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-02-20
MANY INSECTS AS ACTORS,
Even the Lovely butterfly is Up I"
Triciss-,Ioths That Try TO Look as
II They HAD nee stings-Ants copied
By spiders.

By spiders.
All creation below man Is In u state OF
war, and any creature that cannot take
care OF itself quickly falls an implied VIC
tim. Those that have teeth or claws or
stings fight with them, and those that
have none OF these are driven to seek safe
ty by apng tho appearance and manner
Of some bettor endowed relative. Butter
flies In general are most helpless cren'
lures, but some Of them arc possessed OF q
peculiar defense. They have bad taste.
Birds that try to eat them find themselves
made IN and naturally stop tho feast.
Now, tho uniform OF such butterfly - u
valuable protection, and tho sweet and
edible butterflies that live In tho same
fields avail themselves of II. u Mo favored
fly is red, some butterflies that ought per-
hans to be yellow are found nrrayod In
shade OF rcd which Is q pretty close match
OF tho one copied II the poisonous ono
has o marked spot Oh his wings, the imi-
tatur will grow spot somewhat liko u,
and even when tho FIRST has so distinctive
mark as IA swallow tail wing tho poor
hunted cousin IL not discouraged but
sticks out an imitation spike at the end OF
his wing In tho hope Of doceiving tho eye
OF the evor watohful sparrow who is inter
him.
1t is not every individual Of a hunted
species that changes in this way II thoy
all changed, the birds would soon discover
tho trick, and it would become useless.
Sometimes whom the hunted species Is
largo ono it is not safo oven for those that
do change all to copy the same poisonous
H. tltrr NV fNnnH
copying two or oven three different spe-
clos In this case tho eggs that arc laid
by female OF any Of tho colors will
hatch out into all the several kinds of
files 1t Is remarkable that as tho male
flies arc stronger and OF swifter flight
than tho female and better nblo to take
caro- Of themselves they do not often
change, but by keeping their Original col
or serve to dccuy the birds nwny from
their mates and TO koop up the dolusion
that tho Imitation is intended to create.
These disguiscg Of tho butterfly urc won
| dcrful enough, hut they nre all In tho
family, so to speak, and IRE far surpassed
/ by other insects who, not finding any snlo
| individual to copy among their own near
/ relatives, take bold stop and initiate
| member of IN entirely different family.
| There Is n moth that Inns assumed the dis
+ gulso oil the bolligorcnt bee quito success
/ fully. To do this he has himplf hntchod
1 with tho down ON his wings so loose that
u buzz or two shake it oil of md leave
his wings transparent and gau2y liLo the
bou's 1hcn he cruwls around with an
imitation Of II bees peculiar glido and
docs his host to look as II hO had n sting,
There AFRO other flies that have initiated
bees moro or less successfully, but none
that has gono So far to do so as this one.
Mark Twain has called the ant very
much oyorrntcd bird But If man Inns
highly estimated this bird" no has but
followed in the footsteps NJ nature, for tho
ant Il one Of nuturc's invorltos, Sho has
mndu him 50 dry and hard and indigesti.
bic that hD requires specially constructed
animal TO cat him, Hcnce he lives nnd
increases In comparative peace and Is tho
envy OF oil his ncighhors, would doubt
less have many imltntors II It wcro not
that no Is so hard To copy. But ho has
nevertheless found II follower in n certain
spider Now, there "a q great difference
between tho natural appearance OF spider
and an ant ~ great TINT tho spider, even
II no IL n long, thin, blnck spider, might
well bO discouraged, for BIO las eight legs,
aud an ant has six, aud ho has two bulbs
20 his body and an ont three. Yet no Is
tight lacIug or other he first manages to
divide his abdominal bulb in two. Ho
does not get such waist ns an ant has,
but he makes an apparent division, which
Is something Then he walks on his six
hind logs like M ant and waves his two
fore legs IN the dir like an anti Antouup
and, II Is To ho supposed, funoles himself
indlgustlhlo.
But perhaps tho most wonderful lnita-
tlun Is where IN insect copies not the nat
urnl appearance Of another, but his appear.
nnec whom ut work. There is q kind OF
ant In South Amercn who makes 1t his
business to strip the leaves from the trees
, aud carry thom to his nest, and tho sight
OF ono OF thcsc, struggling and often con.
oonlod under his lonf, Is most common,
{ The ant NJ stated before, has few enemies.
Now, there is found where this ant Is com
= mon kind OF fly that has grown upon
Its back sort Of FIN OF tho general shape
Of n loaf md Of bright green color sc
that ms IL crAwls around it might we'll b
mistaken for ono OF these ants under q
lchf, Thus In It's initiative zeal it has
! created feature which Is no part OF the
/ amt 1t copies
OF all these imitation warriors mono 1.
. so ambitious as ono species Of caterpillar
1 lie Is large, lizards Ike to eat him, and
he is perfectly lefenselcss When he 1,
ut rest, no IS like any other caterpillar
and no ono would notice certain dark
spots ON his shoulders. But touch him.
Z md Mt once he draws his head back into
his body aud presents to view most ter
ritying dragon face, Tho spots on hi,
back now look like great saucer eyes, and
his dark head forms boak Of most bel
ligorent aspect Tho whole effect is ri
diculously fierce and must he seen to b,
, appreciated, An Innocent lizard to whom
! this caterpillar was fed turned tail wher
he saw tho transformation and did moi
stop until he was well hidden behind
, twig, New York sun.