1869.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
329 
Imitative Insects. 
It is a curious fact that while there area num¬ 
ber of flowers which become conspicuous from 
their resemblance to insects, there are many in¬ 
sects which strive, so to speak, to render them¬ 
selves less noticeable by assuming the form of 
some part of a plant. 
One of the most 
striking of these, and 
one of which several 
specimens have been 
sent to us, is the 
Walking-stick, the 
commonest species 
being Diaphorriera 
femorata. The long, 
cylindrical, wingless 
body of this insect is 
supported on slen¬ 
der legs, and appears 
so much like a twig 
as to easily escape 
observation. It will 
be readily recogniz¬ 
ed among the others 
in the engraving. 
Many of our crick¬ 
ets, the katydids 
and the like, have 
very leaf-like wings, 
which are of a green 
color, and make 
them very inconspic¬ 
uous among the foliage. The East-Indiau 
Walking-leaves ( Phyllium) far outdo any of our 
insects in their resemblance to leaves; with 
these the imitation is almost perfect. On the 
right-hand side of the engraving is shown one 
of these, but there are others of still more 
grotesque forms. The Museum of Natural 
History (Prof. Agassiz’s) at Cambridge, Mass., 
contains some remarkable specimens of these 
insects. Our “Rear-horse,” or Mantis, we 
bring into this com¬ 
pany of odd insects; 
it is shown in the 
center of the engrav¬ 
ing. The body of 
this insect appears 
like the leaf or twig 
upon which it is 
placed, while its 
elongated chest and 
remarkable fore legs 
give it a most quaint 
appearance. These 
are among the in¬ 
sects worth cultivat¬ 
ing, as they are most 
carnivorous fellows, 
and feed only on 
other insects, except 
food be scarce, and 
then they eat one an¬ 
other. We under¬ 
took to raise a lot, 
but they ate one an¬ 
other until there was 
but one left, and we 
have a suspicion 
that he ate himself. Our Mantis is found 
abundantly as far north as Washington and 
Southern Illinois, and it would be well if it 
could be acclimated elsewhere. A very curious 
butterfly, which possesses a remarkable protec¬ 
tive resemblance, is found in Sumatra. We do 
not know its common name, but it is the Kalli- 
ma paralekta of entomologists. The upper 
surface of the wings of this butterfly is of a 
rich purple, marked with orange and ash color, 
making it conspicuous while on the wing, but 
when it alights it is rarely to be found. It rests 
with its wings closely folded together, with all 
other parts but its legs concealed. The under 
THE WALKING-STICK, MANTIS, WALKING-LEAF, ETC. 
sides of the wings, which in this position are 
the only parts visible, are of an ash or ashy- 
brown color, and the insect resembles a dried 
leaf,-a resemblance which is hightened by 
the shape of the wings, they having tails which 
look like a leaf-stalk and markings which rep¬ 
resent the midrib and veinings of a leaf. The 
careful observer will notice many instances 
among our own insects in the larva or perfect 
form of what are called protective resemblances. 
the gkeat KANGAROO.—( Macropus major ) 
Marsupial Animals.—The Kangaroo, 
The Marsupial animals are those which have 
a pouch under the belly for carrying their 
young. The teats are within this pouch (or 
marsupium), and the animals, being born in a 
very rudimentary condition, are conveyed to the 
pouch, where they attach themselves to the teats 
and there develop. After the young are able to 
take other food than that afforded by the mother, 
the pouch serves them for a place of refuge. 
There are some thirty odd genera of pouch¬ 
bearing animals, and, singularly enough, all, ex¬ 
cept the one of which our Opossum is the rep¬ 
resentative, belong 
to that most singu¬ 
lar of all lands, 
whether we regard 
its animal or its 
vegetative products 
— Australia, and 
the neighboring is¬ 
lands. The Great 
Kangaroo ( Macro¬ 
pus major) is not 
only the largest of 
the Marsupials, but 
the largest animal 
found in Australia. 
The engraving 
gives the general 
appearance of the 
animal. It has a 
remarkable devel¬ 
opment of the hind 
legs and tail, while 
the fore legs appear 
ridiculously small. 
The animal when 
in an upright posi¬ 
tion rests upon its 
hind legs and tail, the fore legs being used on¬ 
ly when it is feeding. The books state that 
the tail is an offensive weapon, and an organ 
of locomotion, and also that the Kangaroo is a 
harmless and inoffensive creature. An old Kan¬ 
garoo hunter of our acquaintance tells a differ¬ 
ent story, and as he has observed them by the 
hundreds, he doubtless knows. The animal 
progresses by leaps, and when pursued, takes 
fifteen or twenty feet at a bound. Our friend 
says that the tail is 
not used in making 
the leap, but to 
break the fall as the 
animal strikes the 
ground. As to their 
being harmless and 
inoffensive, he says 
that an “ old man ” 
Kangaroo is a for¬ 
midable animal,and 
that not only the 
dogs used in hunt¬ 
ing often get killed, 
but men have sus¬ 
tained severe in- 
j ury from them. He 
says that the tail is 
not used as a weap¬ 
on at all. The Kan¬ 
garoo will clasp a 
dog or a man by 
its fore legs with a 
powerful grip, and 
then by the use of 
its hind legs, upon 
each of which there 
is a long and remarkably developed sharp toe, 
scratch and tear its victim. The largest speci¬ 
mens stand at the flight of an ordinary man, 
and the hunters are careful how they come to 
close quarters. When taken young lliey are 
readily tamed and make interesting pets, but 
are very difficult to raise. The Kangaroo is an 
