::::;:::5i: ALONG THE STREAM OF DEATH Is::;;:::: 



with a body 4 inches in length) the protection was the 

 most perfect I had ever seen. To photograph the dra- 

 gon-fly I had to pose it in the brightest snnlight, thus 

 giving no idea of the wonderful illusion which a deep 

 shadow produced — when the wings vanished, the body 

 became a slender twig, and only a single spot of yellow, 

 where the wings overlapped, told of its position ; a hint 

 so intangible that it must be safe, even in this land of 

 keen-eyed, insect-eating birds, mammals, and reptiles. 



The most wonderful 

 protective scheme of all 

 was shown in the Leaf 

 Butterflies ( Tagetis mer- 

 merla), Avhich were not 

 uncommon in the more 

 shady glades of the Stream 

 of Death. Again and 

 again we returned to 

 watch and wonder at 

 them ; each time to find 

 some ncAv adaptation, 

 each time to mistake them 

 at first glance for falling- 

 leaves. 



Each individual but- 

 terfly had a range of fif- 

 teen or twenty yards ujj 

 and down the dry, rocky a leaf butterfly 



-4 241 ^ 



