208 INSECT ARTIZANS AND THEIR WORK 



sucked dry, much as the North American Indian 

 of the Fenimore Cooper days used to decorate 

 himself with the scalps of his enemies. 



You see a minute heap of rubbish among a host 

 of Green Fly, and if you watch it closely will see a 

 pair of caliper-shaped jaws thrust out and closed 

 upon one of the plant-suckers. It is sucked in 

 turn, and the empty skin is thrown over the hidden 

 head and added to the jacket of trophies with which 

 the Aphis Lion is at once clothed and disguised. 

 Feeding upon such juicy food, he is himself suc- 

 culent, and would probably tempt a bird to eat 

 him, but no bird is likely to expect to find succulence 

 under that heap of dry skins. Or one might regard 

 this strange jacket as an appeal to the undiscriminat- 

 ing gardener who is " death on all insects " — See 

 what good I have done you ! behold the scalps of 

 your enemies ! 



The Fly Bug (Reduvius personatus), which preys 

 upon its detestable relative, the Bed Bug, disguises 

 itself in a somewhat similar way by covering its 

 folded wings, legs, and antennae with rubbish, 

 chiefly the downy dust which results from the 

 wearing out of cottony and woolly fabrics and is 

 known to housewives as flue. Like Hemerobius, it 

 would probably utilize the empty skins of its 

 victims, but it has no hairs long enough to hold 

 them in place ; and, therefore, we fear we are 

 scarcely justified in mentioning it under the head 

 of Tailors. 



