UNDER THE APPLE-TREES 



their nests. They know to perfection the art of 

 make-believe. The males of bumblebees and wasps 

 when caught will imitate perfectly the action of a 

 bee when it thrusts its stinger into your hand. 



The look of frightfulness which certain caterpil- 

 lars take on often, in the shape of two fierce coun- 

 terfeit eyes, is only a mask to scare the unsophisti- 

 cated birds. At least experiment seems to prove 

 that this is the case. The caterpillars of some of the 

 hawk-moths wear this frightful mask. These insects 

 can so retract their heads and front segments as to 

 give an increased look of fearfulness. Weismann 

 found that certain small birds were afraid of them. 



When one insect mimics another for the purpose 

 of protection, as is now generally believed to be the 

 case among a number of butterflies, such insect is 

 sailing under false colors. There is perhaps more 

 masquerading in nature than we wot of, and yet it 

 is all natural. 



