i 3 2 THE DARWINIAN THEORY 



at the end of the foremost tentacle, suspended as a 

 lure in front of the mouth, to attract their prey. 



One of the lizards, Phrynocephalus mystaceus, 

 found in Asia, not only in its general colour re- 

 sembles sand, but is also furnished with a red fold of 

 skin at each angle of the mouth, which is produced 

 into a flower-like shape resembling a little red 

 flower which grows in the sand. Insects, attracted 

 by what they believe to be flowers, approach the 

 mouth of the lizard, and fall victims to its snare. The 

 Indian Mantis, Hymenopus bicomis, feeds on other 

 insects, which it attracts by its flower-like shape and 

 pink colour, which resemble an orchid, the shape 

 being due to flattening of the proximal joints of the 

 limbs, which radiate from the body like the petals of 

 a flower. Thomisus decipiens, a spider found by 

 Forbes, and seen twice only, resembled exactly the 

 droppings of birds on a leaf. 



Adventitious Colouring. 



This may possibly be either aggressive or pro- 

 tective. The Caddis worms, for instance, make 

 cases of sand, shells, twigs, and any objects 

 found at the bottom of streams. Xenophora, a 

 genus of Gasteropods, build, pieces of dead shells, 

 rocks, and corals into the edge of their growing 

 shells. Some crabs, again (Stenorhynchus), have a 

 habit of fastening pieces of sea-weed, &c, on to 

 their bodies or limbs. Mr. Bateson describes how 

 these crabs tear the weed in pieces with their 

 claws, and after chewing the pieces in their mouths 



