128 



ORGANIC EVOLUTION 



horridus, to the detriment of my apparel and the loss of 

 my temper, when on the bush that obstructed my further 

 pursuit I observed one of the Hesperida at rest on a leaf 

 on a bird's dropping. I approached with gentle steps but 

 ready net. ... It permitted me to get quite close and 

 /^^, ^\ even to seize it 



between my fin- 

 gers ; to my sur- 

 prise, however, 

 part of the body 

 remained be- 

 hind, . . . adher- 

 ing, as I thought, 

 to the excreta. 

 I looked closely 

 at, and finally 

 touched with the 

 tip of my finger, 

 the excreta, to 

 find if it were 

 glutinous. To 

 my delighted 

 astonishment I 

 found that my 

 eyes had been most perfectly deceived, and that the excreta 

 was a most artfully colored spider lying on its back, with 

 its feet crossed over and closely adpressed to the body. 



" The appearance of the excreta rather recently left on 

 a leaf by a bird or lizard is well known. Its central and 

 denser portion is of a pure white chalklike color, streaked 

 .here and there with black, and surrounded by a thin 



FlG. 36. A mantis {Hymenopus bicornis), which resembles an 

 orchid blossom. By courtesy of Crowell Publishing Company. 



