The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-03-08
the ARTIST
m She Paints the Peacock and rs
IL LeOpard--Not For Arts Sake ~


/ liant coloTs for the breeding season,
and the ocelli are probably highly
, specialized form OF ornament pro-
! duced with a like object. The facts
that the eye-spots are small. or en-
tirely absent. In the case OF the fe-
males, and that they appear upon the
males only during the breeding sea-
son, lend strong support to this the
ory.
: The eye-spots which are so COM
monty seen upon certain kinds OF in
stcts are particularly interesting. In
the case Of certain kinds Of caterpil-
lnrs and beetles there is little doubt
that they are rOtective--rendering
their possessors terrifying in the eyes
of possible enemies. This theory is
materially siren gthened by the fact
that such insects usually have some
rick or device at their disposal, by
means Of which the eye-spots become
more obvious and striking wnen dan
ger threatens. Bates. for example,
/ mentions a case in which South
/ American caterpillar startled every
snake-like appearance-an aspect de-
pendent almost entirely upOn its pos
session Of eye-lilie markings, coupled
/ with the peculiar pose OF it's body
! when at rest. The same is the case
with certain Old World hawk moth
larvae belonging TO the family Chaer-
ocampedae. Several species which
| possess eye-spots upon the anterior
segments of the body have a habit OF
Withdrawing the head and first three
I body segments into the fourth and
fifth segments when alarmed. The
front portion Of the body is thus alb
normally swollen, looking like tho
| head Of an animal. and upon it enor-
nous, terrible looking eyes are prom
inent The effect is greatly height
cned by the suddenness of the trans
formation - an innocent and incon-
spicuous animal being suddenly
turned into what appears 30 be an
awful monster. These caterpillars
are. OF course, perfectly harmless, but
as they are sufficiently snake-like 10
startle human beings, it is not un-
other insectivorous creatures are Of
ten equally alarmed, and pass on
their way without mOlesting what
they Judge to be some dangerous rep
tile.
The fact that the eye-spois Of these
Caterpillars do not, as a rule. attract
especial notice while the insects are
quietly feeding will bear emphasiz-
ing. But as soon as the terrifying
attitude" is assumed in response to a
danger signal. the eye-spots-owing
to the swelling OF the body segments
become enormous and prominent.
Very striking eye-spots are seen
upon the thCraCes of beetles belong
ing to the Central American genus
AlauS. These oCelli are delincated
actually upon the hard integume1t
and cannot therefore be really more
prominent at one time than another.
Yet their power to terrify is much
heightened when the beetle assumes
the attitude with which it is accus-
toned to respond to signs of danger.
1t belongs to the great click beetle"
family. and has the power Of hurting
itself into the air wden frightened.
and falling TO the ground with legs
and antennae tucked tightly beneath
it. In this position it will remain,
seeming to feiGn death. for an indefi-
mite period.
When surprised by a hungry bird
then the beetle not only hurts Itself
out of immediate danger, but prepares
a surprise for its enemy in the event
Of pursuit and discovery. For. with
its legs and antennae tucked out OF
sight, it has all the appearance Of
dangerous and uncanuy looking rep
tile, and the hungry but now thor
oughly disconnected bird turns away
in search OF some more appetiZinC OBJ
ject. Then the beetle. after waiting
a few seconds to make sure that tie
bird has really decauped, puts oIt its
feet and feelers and goes merrily
about its business. Its strange eye
spots have been its salvation.
BY far the most numerous recur-
renceS Of the eye-spot in the insect
world are seen upon the wings OF but
terilies and moths. In some instances
the distinctive mark is small and oft
repeated; in others it is large soli-
tary and staring. Moreover, the color
and makeup" vary as much as the
size, the most curious variety being
the eye-spot with perfectly trans
parent centre. which looks just as
though small piece of glass or mica
had been let into the insects wing.
Now. such very striking and COM
plicated markings cannot have be-
come characteristic of large families
of butterflies ani moths without some
important meaning attaching TO the
circumstance. and il has been sug-
gested as possible that the EYE"
possesses some protective value in
that IL would be likely 20 attract
birds as a point at which % strike.
IL bird. when in chase of butter
fly or moth. were 10 pierce one OF it's
oNp-Soots iittia DAMAGE wOuid la