INSECT CAMOUFLAGE. 



By L. D. Clsare, Jnr., F.E.S. 



Now that the word ' camouflage ' has become a part of the English 

 language and the art of camouflage is so extensively practised, especial- 

 ly in modern warfare, it may perhaps be of interest to notice how some 

 animals make use of this art, or are provided with it by Nature. 



The word 'camouflage' as we all know has been borrowed from 

 our French allies, to whom we already owe so many words of our 

 language, and means, as we now understand it, to disguise or deceive. 



For the past four years the deception of the enemy has been exten- 

 sively practised and almost everything has been camouflaged to a greater 

 or lesser extent. From the khaki uniforms of the men to the elaborate 

 designs painted on big guns, waggons, ' tanks ' and ships, and even the 

 occasional painting of the men themselves, are all branches of this now 

 almost universally practised art. 



When we ' camouflage ' an object our aim is usually to make it as 

 like its surroundings as possible and so render it indistinguishable, or at 

 least less conspicuous. This is not always the case for we now know that 

 in camouflaging ships the objective aimed at was not inconspicuousness but 

 dazzling effect : for in this way it was more difficult for the enemy to 

 get their range. 



Among animals the rendering of themselves inconspicuous is of the 

 greatest importance, for thus they deceive their enemies, as well as man, 

 and escape slaughter. Even among animals, however, inconspicuousness 

 is not always the aim, for both in ' warning coloration ' and ' mimicry ' 

 the colours are flashy as we will see later. 



In practising camouflage man is therefore but applying mechanically, 

 and in a more advanced manner, a character which is naturally possessed 

 by a large number of animals and which he himself still possesses, at 

 least in some races, in the most primitive form — deceptive coloration, 

 as for instance Aboriginal Indians. 



In the insect world we find the art of camouflage very highly 

 developed, probably higher than in any other group of animals, 

 except perhaps man himself, and they therefore form a particularly inter- 

 esting group to study in this connection. 



A conspicuous character of every kind of insect is its colour-pattern, 

 and while some of these, the ones which we notice most, are flashy and 

 conspicuous there are others which are dull, obscure, and monochrome. 

 A careful examination will, however, reveal that even in the small 

 sombre-coloured insects there is a remarkable uniformity, and often 

 amazing intricacy, of this colour-pattern. Sooner or later, therefore, the 



