148 MAGPIE MOTH. 



themselves. People have been known to frighten 

 themselves very much by taking hold of a caterpillar, 

 thinking it to be a dead branch. 



The only precaution taken by the creature is to 

 have a thread ready spun from its mouth to the 

 branch, so that if it should be discovered, it might 

 drop down suddenly, and when the danger was 

 over, climb up its rope and regain its home. 



The commonest of the loopers is the well-known 

 caterpillar of the Currant or Magpie Moth, plate E, 

 fig. 3. This creature is remarkable from the cir- 

 cumstance that its colours are of the same character 

 throughout its entire existence ; the caterpillar, chry- 

 salis, and perfect moth showing a similar rich colour 

 and variety of tint, as seen on figs. 3 a and 3 b. 



It is a curious fact that almost every stratagem of 

 animals is used by man; whether intuitively, or 

 whether on account of taking a hint, I cannot say. 



For example, Parkyns, the Abyssinian traveller, 

 tells an amusing tale of a party of Barea robbers, 

 who when pursued got up a tableau vivant at a 

 moment's notice. One man personated a charred 

 tree-stump, and the others converted themselves 

 into blackened logs and stones lying about its base. 



It seemed so impossible for human beings to 

 remain so still, that a rifle-ball was sent towards the 

 stump, and caused it to take to its heels, followed by 

 the logs and stones. 



I have heard of a similar stratagem that was put 



