c HAP. XIV PRO TECTIVE MIMIC R V 



273 



invisible at a distance of over 500 yards. In bright sunshine, 

 in the middle of the day, I have seen a herd of them at a 

 distance of over three miles ; but that is not the time when 

 their enemies prey upon them, and then their visibility involves 

 little risk. 



It is, however, among the insects that cases of protective 

 resemblance are most abundant. Insects shaped like seed-pods 

 and leaf-buds, like lichen and dried sticks, or coloured like leaves 

 and rocks, were met with nearly every day. They are too well 

 known to need description, but two cases may be mentioned. 



One case was met with during our return march from the 

 first expedition. Strolling one evening out of the camp at 

 Kurawa, I was startled by a hissing noise like that of a snake 

 coming from a clump of grass. As I was wearing knicker- 

 bockers and tennis shoes, I sprang back and pelted the grass 

 with handfuls of sand. As this did not drive out the supposed 

 snake, I cautiously approached, peering into the clump. I 

 could just detect a small green head among the stalks, and 

 behind this appeared, whenever the noise was repeated, an 

 expansion like the hood of a cobra. I tried to kill the animal 

 by a few sharp blows with my stick behind the head, and 

 one of these knocked it over. I then found that I had been 

 frightened by a big grasshopper, which, by puffing out its 

 wings, assumed a resemblance to the shape of the head of a 

 hooded snake ; while its noise was a good imitation of the dull, 

 jerky hiss of some species of snakes. 



The second case was more remarkable. I was working 

 through the woods beside the Kibwezi river with Mr. Watson, 

 one of the missionaries at the station there, when my attention 

 was attracted by a large brightly-coloured flower, like a fox- 

 glove or a TinncBa (see Frotitispiece). It had been raining heavily, 

 and the vegetation was so sodden with moisture that collecting 

 was useless ; I should have passed the specimen by had not 

 I noticed some small, white, fluffy patches below the flower. 

 These appeared to be lichen, of a kind which does not usually 

 grow on flower stems ; I therefore pushed my stick through the 

 bush to pull the flower towards me ; as soon as my stick 

 touched it, to my great surprise, the flowers and buds jumped 

 off in all directions. 



T 



