The Tucumcari news. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1906-01-06
INSECT MIMlCRY.
Butterflies That Assume the Color
aud shape of Tree Leaves.

ana Shupe Oh Tree bchNc
A phase OF animal life which at
tracts our attention and calls forth un-
ceasing wondermcnt Is that of protec-
tive resemblance. Nature has wisely
endowed certain dcfcnscless animals
with this peculiar faculty, which makes
them mimic their surroundings so that
they may avoid their enemies. This Is
especially true of some insects. The
katydid, with Its gauzy green wings.
will fall z%igzagging from a tree to the
ground in such n way that any feath-
cred enemy seeing 1t would think 1t a
leaf. The same method of protection
is seer in our common butterflies int
moths that mimic flowers and leaves.
The moths mimic bits of wood and
stone, so that when they alight on the
ground they are Mt once invisible to
their pursuers.
Travelling fakirs in India have n way
of making use of their knowledge of
this faculty in insects and by means
of it perform whuc they call n miracle.
The faklr thrusts into the ground a
small tree with leaves about three
inches long. lie then takes from a box
n dozen or more butterflies of rare
beauty. When the onlookers AVE ex-
amined these to make sure that they
are real he throws them one by n
into the air, and they alight on the tree
and Immediately become invisible. The
first superstition is that the onlookers
have been hypnotizcd; but, the fafir
catching the little tree and giving it a
shake. the butterflies float into the air
and again settle about the tree and dis
appear.
The fakir then points out the illusion.
The butterflies were not three feet
from the eyes and had so mimicked the
leaves when their wings We're folded
that the deception was perfect, both In
color and shape. There were even the
delicate mold spots. the central or mid
rib of the leaf and the delicate lateral
branches from It, while the stem of the
leaf was closely initiated by the lower
portion of the wings, which were press
ed against the stem. This mimic,
known to science as 'kaliina," II fol-
lowed by a bird simply alights on a
bush or tree and becomes invisible.
Other interesting instances of MIN
icry are found among the butterflies in
India. a naturalist noted a butterfly
there that was not only q remarkable
mimic. but when followed 1t initiated
the peculiar flight of a butterfly that
was obnoxious to birds. In almost
every group Of insects We find this pro.
tective resemblance, but those among
the walking sticks and walking leaves
are most remarkable. In the latter VIC
have an example Of an insect SO closely
resembling n leaf that 1t bears close
examination without discovery. The
insect looks as If it were made up OF
several pieces of leaf. Still another
cannot be taken for anything Other
than n dry brown twig or branch, sc
closely has it initiated the color and
the sharp angles.
In all forms of life there Is a tendency
to %adaptability to the popularity of Its
surroundings. Gayly tinted birds are
not, as n rule, found or white, sandy
wastes, but in forests where there II
deep coloring and the contrast Is no
great. The lion, the giraffe, the ostrich
are forms which assimilate their sur
roundings. In California the horned
toad Is almost as invisible az the san,
on which 1t lives. The little canyol
toad mimics the rocks on which /
rests, while the frog of the east 4
scarcely to be distinguished from tn
weeds among which it lives.-Ney