74 



DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND PLANTS 



the habit of resting with its wings spread flat and not folded 

 back, as is characteristic of most species of the butterfly. 



Significance of protective coloring and markings. Quite akin 

 to the utility of weapons is the whole matter of protective color- 

 ing. By this is meant in general that color or an assemblage 

 of colors which so blends with the surroundings as to make 

 creatures inconspicuous on the one hand, or, on the other, to 

 look like something which they are not, as, for example, when 

 an insect or animal is colored similar to the ground or the foli- 

 age it inhabits, or when it looks like another species that is 



Fig. 10. Lower and upper surface respectively of Ageronia feronia (author's 

 specimen) ; general color, a greenish gray 



commonly dreaded and avoided. Such utility is mainly defen- 

 sive, though on occasion it might facilitate the approach of an 

 animal upon its prey. 



At close range the high colors — red, green, blue, etc. — stand 

 out distinctly, but in the distance all colors tend to blend into a 

 theoretical white, in fact, a dirty gray, as may be noted when 

 viewing a distant scene where the earth and sky line meet 

 almost imperceptibly.^ Artists know this fact and use the grays 

 for distant effects except when under strong sunlight. 



This explains why so many animals that live more or less in 

 the open are of a dirty brown or gray color. Of all shades it is 



1 On the principle that all colors taken together make white. In nature all 

 colors do not exist in proper proportions and the general result is a gray. 



