54 



Marvels of Insect Life, 



Photo by 



Horned Membracid. 



[H. Bastm. 



A British representative of this remarkable family — here shown 

 six times larger than life. In general build much like a frog- 

 hopper, it has the addition of a pair of horns above the head, 

 and from between these a long.horny process extends over the 

 back and the closed wings almost to the extremity of the body. 



eyes. The species are all good leapers, 

 with short, stout legs, armed with a circle 

 of short spines on the tips of the hind- feet." 

 They subsist, like frog-hoppers, by sucking 

 the juices of plants through a delicate beak. 

 Unfortunatel\-, the forms of most of 

 these curious Insects are better known than 

 their life-histories and habits, but, judging 

 from what is known of a few of them, there 

 can be little doubt that their forms are 

 mimetic and protective. The largest known 

 species,! a native of South America, has 

 its supplementary portion developed into 

 a curved, leaf-like expansion standing on 

 edge over the back, and coloured smoky- 

 brown with vellow spots. This species 

 is a giant, as it measures more than 

 half an inch in length. A near relation has this expansion coloured green, and 

 looks exactly like one of the coushie, or leaf-cutting ants, walking off with its piece 

 of leaf carried over the back. The brown colour of the head and legs helps to carry 

 out the deception, for this is the colour of the ant. Mr. Sclater, who shook this 

 Insect from the leaves of a tree in British Guiana, at first thought that it was one 

 of these ants, which were abundant all around him ; but a closer inspection — such 

 as an ant could not make — satisfied him that it was something different. It is 

 probable that this resemblance to the coushie ant protects it from enemies that ha\-e 

 considerable respect for that Insect. 



Owing to the absence of what the reader would consider reasonable names, 

 we cannot refer to the species individually, but we give a selection of portraits of 

 remarkable forms that their variety may be appreciated. " Many of these Insects 



affect the axils of twigs and stems of 

 various bushes or small trees, especially 

 near watercourses, and protect themselves 

 by selecting places which well agree with 

 their pattern of marking." In one genus - 

 the species are all dark brown in colour, 

 and imitate bits of dried leaves, ha\-ing 

 a ragged appearance and a waN-\- outlinr, 

 as though a piece had been cut out of tlif 

 l)ack. In some the addition to the fore- 

 body is continued backwards as a pitch- 

 fork or trident. Others have a distinct 

 resemblance to some of the lour-winged 

 stinging Insects, and some 13razilian species 

 closely mimic the spinous ants of that 

 region. Many species an' cherished by ants, 



- Stegaspis. 



Photo by] \H. Ilnstin. 



GROTESguE Adornment. 



In this species of Cyphonia, one of the Central .American 

 membracids, the expansion of the fore-body after developing 

 a couple of pairs of horns, is prolonged backwards and 

 into three knobs, each ending in a long spine. 



d)ov( 



^ -Membracis foliacca. 



