178 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



us the ' walking-stick,' which occurs in oak thickets, is really abundant ; 

 but its elongate body and its colors make it so like the tender shoots and 

 the denuded midribs of the leaves, that it requires the very closest obser- 

 vation to see them. With the advance of the season the new twigs change 

 their color to a grayish brown, and with this change the color of the insect 

 also changes to the same shades. Only about half a dozen representatives 

 ,,f tin- -roup are found in the United States, and none of them begin to 

 compare with the wonderful leaf-insects of the East Indies, one of which is 

 figured above. In our cut it shows its insect characters plainly enough ; but 

 place it on a dead branch amid withered leaves, and one could scarcely see 

 it. Its outer wings have the shape and color of a dead leaf, while even the 

 veins resemble the nerves upon the leaf. Even the basal joints of the legs 

 carry out the similarity; for they are flattened and leaf-like, and each is 



crossed by a midrib. Our next cut shows 

 some more of these mimicking forms from 

 the East Indies, drawn to a smaller scale, 

 but still showing their remarkable features. 

 These forms so far mentioned walk or 

 crawl along comparatively slowly ; but the 

 rest of the group possess well-developed leap- 

 ing powers. Their hind legs are large and 

 well developed, and by suddenly straight- 

 ening these the insects are able to jump 

 long distances, sometimes many times their 

 length. In the first forms these leaping 

 powers are but very poorly developed. The 

 mole-crickets are fitted for a subterranean 

 rather than an aerial life. The terminal 

 joints of the first pair of legs are flattened 

 and broadened, admirably adapting them 

 for the excavation of the large subterranean 

 burrows in which they spend the greater 

 part of their lives. This life under ground 

 partially explains the apparent rarity of 

 these forms, for they rarely leave their bur- 

 rows, and then only after dark. 

 The true crickets, on the other hand, are more common, and their per- 

 sistent chirp is one of the most characteristic premonitions of the approach 

 of autumn. As soon as the evening begins, they begin the chorus which is 

 kept up in the most monotonous manner throughout the night. As long 

 as these forms stay out of doors their music is endurable ; but when one 



Fig. L62. — Examples of East Indian 

 ( h-thoptera which mimic other ob- 

 jects. 



