Royal Physical Society. 41 



foremost, that is, its head and tail are packed downwards, so 

 as to meet each other ; the back between them first appears, 

 and they are drawn out next; the legs are extricated last. 

 The colour of the insect at this stage is a reddish-yellow, some- 

 thing of the hue of a half-dried beech leaf; for it is to be ob- 

 served, that although the colour of the insect varies at different 

 periods of its life, it always more or less resembles a leaf in 

 some stages. When it has once settled to eat the leaves on 

 which it is placed, the body speedily becomes bright green. 

 Among the leaves of the common myrtle it cannot be distin- 

 guished by the colour of the body (the legs are browner; ; and 

 its habit of carrying itself tends to add to the deception. It 

 bears its tail generally curled up a little, just about as much 

 bent as the myrtle leaf. As it bends its tail up, however, the 

 curl would be the wrong way, unless the insect walked back 

 downmost, which, in point of fact, is its constant habit, ad- 

 hering to the under side of the leaves. This habit brings to 

 light another beautiful contrivance for still farther heightening 

 its resemblance to a leaf. The upper surface is opaque green, 

 the under surface glossy, glittering green, just the reverse of 

 the myrtle or guava leaf ; so that, by reversing its position, it 

 brings the glossy side up and the dull side down.* It is pro- 

 vided with tarsi to suit this upside-down mode of life. Be- 

 tween each of the claws there is a large spongy pad, which, 

 as with flies walking on the ceiling, enables it to adhere firmly 

 to the leaf; indeed it was always difficult to disengage its 

 hold of anything it stuck to. 



There are several differences between the form of the insect 

 at this stage and as it finally appears. It has no wings now. 

 The antennae, whether the animal subsequently turn out to be 

 male or female, have at present the form of the antennse of the 

 perfect female. On the other hand, the legs have the male form. 

 The flat leaf-like appendages to the legs of the female are much 

 broader and more expanded than those of the male; and as every 

 example of the freshly-eclosed insect which I have seen has these 

 appendages shaped like those of the male (while at the same 



* This peculiarity is much more distinctly seen in the young state and living 

 insect, than in the dried specimens. 



VOL. I. F 



