The record-union., 1897-05-22
INSECT USE OF DISCUSSES.
Ruse of Cricket Pursued by a Lizard
-rloths That Change Color.

-TlOthS That Change Color.
THE Protective Value of Action, Vo-
litional or Otherwise, in Protective
Mimicry'' was the title of a paper read
in the Museum of Natural History last
Tuesday evening to members of the
New York chronological Society.
The author of the paper was Profess
sor F. NJ Webster of Wooster. O. 1t
is the custom of the chronological So
ciety to avail itself of the result of re-
searches carried on in different parts Of
the country, although the original in
vestigator may not be able to present
his views in person. This was the case
on Tuesday evening, but Professor
Webster's paper was none the less in
teresting because it was read by the
Secretary of the society.
Many naturalists object to the term
protective mimicry" on the ground
that ii involves volition, which, they
claim cannot be said to exist in in
sects They maintain that whatever
immunity from injury may come To
some insects through their resemblance
to certain objects is purely the result
of natural selection.
However this may be, the paper went
on to tell of some marvellous instances
of insects escaping destruction by some
larger bird or animal or capture by
some Jealous naturalist. A hunter in
tropical regions tells of seeing a cricket
pursued around the trunk of a tree by
a lizard. Suddenly the insect settled it
self in slight depression in the bark,
spread out its wings slightly, and SO
fiattened itself that the lizard came
upon il, fairly crawled over it. and
went away without even knowing what
had become of its prey
Another variety of moth" continues
Professor Webster, which is quite COM
mon around elm trees, can be detected
only by the trained eye of the natural
ist. 1t has a way of fixing its wings
so that they closely resemble spots on
the bark of the tree or lichens. and the
body is passed unnoticed by the casual
observer, who thinks that it is the re-
mains of a moth upon which spider
has feasted. Watch one of these for a
while and you will be surprised to see
the supposed spots on the tree come 10
life and the whole outfit fiutter away.
Another moth. whose colors are
principally pink and yellow, will so dis
pose himself in the blossom of a prim-
rose as to wholly escape notice. In
Java, Sumatra and others of the East
Indies, there is a variety of spider
which practices a most peculiar form of
deception. They will repose on the up
per side of a large leaf in such shape
that they perfectly resemble decayed
matter
The paper closed with a reference to
the more common instances of decep-
,1iy
as the ability of the 'possum to feign
death, and that of caterpillars TO lie
around on trees and shrubbery in imi-
tation of dead twigs.
Shall We say, then" concluded Pro-
fessor Webster, that all these in
stances show nothing but instinct and
no display of intelligence or volition?
These insects certainly show intelli-
gence enough to protect their lives, and
it certainly seems as though there is
present the same conscious volition as
there is in the case of a bird builalng a
nest with view to living in it, There
are doubtless also elements of natural
selection and heredity in the action of
these insects A child is not born even
with a knowledge of the alphabet, al
though its parents may have been high
ly educated But there is, nevertheless,
hereditary something. sort OF founda-
ton perhaps, which makes it easier for
that child to master the alphabet. So,
in the case of insects, there is doubtless
an inherited foundation which enables
them better to apply their protective
deceptions'
In the discussion which followed the
reading of the paper attention was
called to the insect mimicry collection
in the Museum of Natural History.
This is as yet rather small, but addi-
tions are constantly being made to it.
The specimens at present are mostly
the barks of different trees, the hickory,
birch and poplar, showing the different
varieties of insects which frequent
these trees on account of their color