Packaru.] IXSECTS as MIMICS. 2G3 



198) is of the exact color of the garden soil ; it is only seen 

 about the roots of the plant near the ground, while the little 

 yellow beetle (Fig. 199) is a frequent visitor of the yellow 

 flowers. 



Among the moths which hide on the surface of the ground 

 or in the grass are the numerous species of owlet moths 

 (Noctuidic). The Agrotis and Mamestra, and many others 

 of this family, as caterpillars, show many pecu- ^^^^ j^g 

 liar adaptations in color to the soil on which 

 they live. The dusk^-, livid cut worms would 

 be easily overlooked as the}' crawl over the soil, 

 when disturbed from their retreats under sticks 

 and stones. They move about at night, and 

 nocturnal insects are usually dull colored. On 

 the other han<l the pretty, green, cinnamon , „ 



* • -^ ° hiiiuish Bug. 



spotted Lei)tosia {L. concinnimacula) flies by 

 day in the short grass. When the larger, dull brown moths, 

 such as that of the army worm of the north, are disturbed, 

 they quickly dart into the dry rusty stubble, and it is almost 

 impossible to detect them if they remain quiet, as they often 

 have the instinct to do when an enemy is close at hand. 



Lichen-covered rocks are frequented by certain moths and 



Fig 190 butterflies which afl^ord some of the most remark- 

 -<pw — ^ Jil'le cxami)les of protective coloring I have ever 



^|V observed. This is particularly noticeable in Arc- 



vIliK^ tic and Alpine Lepidoptera. The cranberry fields 



^ ^*^\. and barren moors of Labrador abound in little 



Squash gj.j^y j^jjj (imj colored leaf-rolling moths, which 



Beetle. . o 7 



are impossible to detect until the}' are startled. 

 Some geometrid moths are called carpet moths in England 

 from the large number observed carpeting the lichen and 

 moss-grown rocks of the hills of Scotland. I have captured 

 within an hour's time as many as seventy-five of the Polar 

 Glaucopter3'x on Table Rock at the mouth of the Straits 

 of Belle Isle. As they rested on the lichened rocks it was 



7 



