OF THE AMAZON VALLEY. 509 



— the coloured tips ol' tlu'se uiiii;s, wlicu they are closed, rescmblini,' a section of the 

 wood. Other Moths are dccei)ti\ cly like ihe excrement of hirds on leaves. I met 

 with a species of Phytophaii'ous JJcctle {CliUnvijs jjiliiln) on ihe Amazons, whicli was 

 undistini::uishal)le ])y the eye from the duni>- of Cater])illars on foliage These two 

 lat1(>r cases of imitation siionld he can^fully considered l)y those wlio would he in- 

 (dined to think that the ohject of mimetic analogies in nature was sim))ly variety, 

 ])eauty, or ornament: nevertlieh>ss these are certainly attendants on the ))iieii()meiia ; 

 some South-American CassUhe resemhle i!,ditterini^ drops of (h'w on the tips of leaves, 

 owinij^ to their hurnished ])early i^old colour. Some species of lion^icorn Coleoptera 

 {Onychoccni.s Scorpio and roiicciiiriciis) have ])recisely the colour and sculpture of the 

 bark of the particular s])ecies of tree on which eacii is fou)ul. It is remarkahle that 

 other species of the same small i;rou]) of LoiK/ifOinics {PlKU'clloccvd liutinctJl, t'lj- 

 clopcpliis Balcs'ii) counterfeit, not inanimate ol)jects, like their near kindred just cited, 

 hut other insects, in the same way as the LrptaVnlcs do tlie JTrUcoiinlce. 



AuKUiii'st the living- objects mimicked by insects are the pr(*dacious species from wliicli 

 it is the int(n-est of the mimickers to l)e concealed. Thus, the species of Scdphnra (a 

 s;eiuis of Crickets) in South America resemble in a wonderful manner dilU'reiit Sand 

 AVasps of lar^e size, whicdi are constantly on the searcdi for Crickets to provision their 

 nests with. Another pretty Cricket, which 1 obs(>i-ved, was a ii'ood imitation of a '['iiivr 

 licet le*, and was always found on trees frequented by the J5eetles {OdoiilocIieiLc). 

 There arc endless instances of ])re(hicious insects l)eint;' disL;iiise(l I)y havinu' similar 

 sha))es and colours to those of their ])rey ; many Spiders are thus endowed: hut some 

 huntini>' Spiders mimic llower-buds, and station themselves motionless in the axils of 

 leaves and other ])arts of ])lants to wait for their victims. 



The most extraordinary instance of imitation I c\i'r met with was that of a very 

 lar^^e Caterpillar, which stretched itscdf from amidst the foliaue of a tree which 1 was 

 one day oxamininii', and startled me by its resemblance to a small Snake. Tlielirst three 

 scii'ments behind the head wvvc dihitable at the will of the insect, and had on each side 

 a lirii:e black ])upillated sjjot, whiidi resembled the ey(> of the reptile : it was a ])ois()nous 

 orvi])(>rine species mimicked, and not an innocuous or colubi'ine Snake ; this was proNcd 

 l)y the imitation of keeled scales (m the crown, which was jjroduced by the recund)ent 

 feet, as th(! Caterpillar threw its(df backwards. The llev. Josejih (Jreenc, to whom 1 liavc 

 a description, supposes 1li(> insect to have bcloni;-e(l to tlie family X(>tnil(>ii[i(hr, many of 

 which have the habit of thus beiulin^' themselves. 1 carried oil' the Caterpillar, and 

 alarmed every one in the villanc where 1 was then living', to whom I slunvcil it. It 

 unfortunately died befoi'c I'cachinn' the adult state. 



J). XdA). Tlie author eiiunu'ratcs many very singular cases of niiniiery ; ho also states his hclief that the niiiniery is 

 intended to protect the insects from their enemies. 



There is an interesting; note, by the Rev. Jose])h (Ireenc, in the 'Zoologist,' IS.'id, p. :'i07.'J, on the autumn and 

 winter Moths of England, wliosc colours are shown hy the author to be adapted to the ])revailing tints of nature in 

 the season in which the species Rpi)ear. 



* A remarkal)lc instance of deceptive analogy relating to a Cricket and a s|ieeies (jf C/cini/cln is docribed by West- 

 wood in Trans. Lin. Soe. vol. xviii. p. 119. In this memoir, Mr. Westwood has enumerated many curious eases ol 

 mimetic analogy. 



