ADAPTATIONS 



425 



858. Welfare of the Individual and of the Species. — The 



welfare of a species sometimes makes demands which do not 

 coincide with what is required for the welfare of the individuals 

 of that species. It is sometimes in the interest of the species 

 that certain individuals should perish. It is often better that 

 the weak or inefficient individuals should perish, and in many 





Fig. 262. — A sandy beach, the home of a small hght-gray grasshopper. The 

 dark patches in the background are green yaupon thickets where two species of 

 green grasshoppers are found. These are remarkably well protected by their 

 coloration when in their proper environment. Coast of North Carolina. 



cases the welfare of the species requires the sacrifice of the 

 most efficient individuals. In many instances the female 

 dies immediately after she has properly deposited her brood of 

 eggs. This is not only because her life term has been completed 

 but because of the heavy draught made upon her organism 

 by the development of the ova. Sometimes the body of the 



