ADAPTIVE COLORATION 



179 



withstanding some discussion as to whether it usually rests in pre- 

 cisely the same position as a leaf, this insect certainly deceives experi- 

 enced entomologists and presumably eludes birds and other enemies by 

 means of its deceptive coloration. 



Some of the tropicaJ Phasmidre counterfeit sticks, green leaves, or 

 dead leaves with minute accuracy. Our common phasmids, Diaphero- 



FIG. 241. Mcmomera blalchlcyi, on a twig. 

 Natural size. 



FIG. 242. Catocala lacrymosa; A, upper surface; 

 R, with wings closed, and resting on bark. Re- 

 duced. 



mera femorata and Manomera blatchleyi (Fig. 241), are well known as 

 ''stick insects"; indeed, it is not necessary to go beyond the temperate 

 zone to find plenty of examples of protective resemblance. Geometrid 

 caterpillars imitate twigs, holding the body stiffly from a branch and 

 frequently reproducing the form and coloration of a twig with striking 

 exactitude; and the moths of the same family are often colored like the 

 bark against which they spread their wings. Even more perfectly do the 

 Catocala moths resemble the bark upon which they rest (Fig. 242), with 



