298 



INSECTS ABROAD. 



grey, the rest of the wing being pale brown with a yellowish 

 tinge. On the upper surface the elytra are brown, just like a 

 withered leaf, which they also resemble in the character of the 

 nervures. Below, however, the elytron is boldly and beautifully 

 marked. Its general colour is yellow-brown, but towards the 

 tip it is adorned with a large eye-like spot, the centre of 

 which is black, surrounded by a broad ring of grey, and com- 

 pleted by a semicircular patch of dark brown on the side next 

 the base. 



The extraordinary being called Phyllonrrnia paradoxa is a 

 native of Natal. 



Even in the illustration it scarcely looks like an insect, but 

 without the aid of colour it is absolutely impossible to give even 

 an approximate idea of its utterly un-insectlike aspect. Take 

 a dry oak-leaf, rub it between the hands, pinch out little bits 

 from the sides, and there will be a very tolerable representation 

 «:)1' Fhylloiiemia paradoxa. 



Its colour is just the withered brown of a dry leaf, finely 

 granulated with black, as is a leaf that 

 has for some time been lying on the 

 ground. The end of the head is 

 squared, elongated, and flat; the 

 sides of the thorax are flat, the legs 

 are furnished with sundry flattened 

 projections ; while the abdomen is not 

 only flat, but is bent upwards just as 

 dry leaf is curled by the heat of the 

 sun. There is nothing straight or 

 regular about it, and it is so crum- 

 pled, jagged, and twisted, that if it 

 were placed among a number of dried 

 leaves, even the most experienced eye 

 could hardly distinguish the leaf from the insect. 



The generic name of Phyllonemia is a very happy one. It 

 is composed of two Greek words, the former signifying " a 

 leaf," and the latter " a fibre or filament," in allusion to the 

 appearance of its body and limbs, which exactly resemble, 

 a leaf torn into jagged strips. The word paradoxa needs no 

 explanation. 



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Fig. 140. — Phyllonemia paradoxa. 

 (Brown.) 



