48 



WAYS OF THE SIX-FOOTED 



most butterflies as the most delectable sort of food. 

 This butterfly is especially agreeable as a diet to birds, 

 and yet they rarely touch it. Why is this ? It is 

 another instance of the marvellous adaptation of this 

 species to its environment, and of its power to seize 

 an advantage in a precarious situation. This wonder- 



FiG. 25. The Monarch. 



ful little creature that resembled disagreeable things 

 when it was young to save itself from being eaten by 

 birds, now, when grown, resembles in color and mark- 

 ings a butterfly which birds avoid for good reason. 

 This butterfly {Afiosia plexippus) is named the Monarch, 

 and it belongs to a group all members of which are 

 nauseous to birds. Its gay color, orange-red marked 



