COLOR AND PATTKUX IX ANIMALS 4iy 



would not let- me approach, and kept runninj; away round and round 

 their pole, so I threw the insect at them. Tlicir frijrht was ludicrous 

 to see; with loud cries they jumped aside and clamljered up the poleaa 

 fast as they could go, into their ])ox, where they sat peering rivc-r the 

 edge watching the uncanny object below." (Marsliall.) 



Marshall also writes concerning; the niarkintrs on the wings 

 of the mantis, Pseudccrcohotra ivahlberyi : 



"They are, I think, almost certainly of a terrifying character. W lien 

 the insect is irritated, the wings are raised over its back in .sucIj a 

 manner that the tegmina stand side by side, and the markings on them 

 present a very striking resemblance to the great yellow eyes of a l)ird 

 of prey or some feline animal, which might well deter an insectivorous 

 enemy. It is noticeable that the insect is always careful to keej) tlie 

 wings directed toward the point of attack, and this is often done witli- 

 out altering the position of the body." 



Still another use is believed by some entomologists to be 

 afforded by such markings as ocelli and other specially con- 

 spicuous spots and flecks on the wings of butterflies and moths, 

 and by such apparently useless parts as the "tails" of the hind 

 wdngs of the sv/allowtail, and Lycanid butterflies, and others. 

 Marshall occupied himself for a long time with collecting butter- 

 flies which had evidently been snapped at by 1)irds (in some 

 cases the actual attack being observed) and suffered the loss of 

 a part of a wing. Examining these specimens when brought 

 together, Poulton and Marshall noted that the "great majority 

 [of these injuries to the wings] are inflicted at the anal angle 

 and adjacent hind margin of the hind wing, a considerable 

 number at or near the apical angle of the fore wing, and com- 

 paratively few between the points.'' In tliis fact, couple«l with 

 the fact that the apical and hind angles of tlie fore and lund 

 wings respectively are precisely those regions of the wings most 

 usually specially marked and ])rolonged as angular j )roce.'^se.s or 

 tails, Poulton sees a s])ecial significance in the j^at terns of tlu\<o 

 wing parts. He thinks they are "directive marks whicli tend 

 to divert the attention of an enemy from more vital parts." 

 It is obvious that a butterfly can \(My well afford to lo.<o the 

 tip or tail of a wing if that loss will save losing head or alKlomen. 

 Poulton sees a "remarkable resemblance of the marks and 



