Mimicry 



A Javan species of spider, too, has assumed this strange 

 garb, not as a means of escaping observation, but in order 

 the more readily to obtain food. Unlike the majority of 

 spiders, he spins no web, but rests in some exposed place, 

 a conspicuous black and white, inert-looking mass. 

 Strange as it may seem, some butterflies are given to 

 making a meal of such unpleasant fare and, mistaking 

 this spider for a meal, they settle upon him, with disastrous 

 results, for they are immediately seized and thus provide 

 a meal. 



Let us now turn to some of the harmless insects which 

 resemble harmful ones, or at any rate insects well provided 

 with defensive organs. The common conception of a 

 moth is an insect whose wings are covered with scales 

 of such a nature as to give them a distinctive colour. 

 Occasionally there is a circular patch or eye which is 

 devoid of scales and thus forms a transparent spot. In 

 certain families there are moths whose wings are almost 

 totally devoid of scales, to such an extent, at any rate, 

 that they are popularly known as " clearwings." 



One species, the hornet clearwing moth, has its body 

 banded with buff and orange-yellow, remarkably similar 

 to those of the hornet, which, in fact, it mimics. The 

 rapid, nervous flight of these insects heightens the 

 illusion, and when they are on the wing it requires an 

 expert to distinguish the peace-loving moth from the oft- 

 times aggressive, formidable hornet. Moths, however, 

 are not without rivals in their mimicry. 



A common British beetle bears such a remarkable 

 resemblance to the wasp that it has earned the title of 

 wasp-beetle. It is well known that what may be termed 

 the delicate flying wings of the majority of beetles are 

 totally protected, when not in use, by hard wing-cases. 

 In the wasp-beetle, however, the wing-cases, which, by the 

 way, are marked with black and yellow, after the manner 

 of a wasp, are so reduced in size that the membrane-like 

 flying wings are fully exposed. This fact renders the 



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