THE GEELONG NATURALIST. 60 X ~ 
bathing, exploring, and collecting, during which we found 
immensely keen appetites, and I certainly never felt “tucker " to 
be such a necessity before, nor relished food so much as during 
the week spent camping out. We had to draw the line at 
one dish though; it was christened “jerked rabbit.” Suffice 
for me to say that after a brave attempt, I “jerked” it off my 
plate, and gave the birds and insects a “show,” though I fancy 
it proved even too strong for them, as the odour from it was 
borne upon the breeze for some time after. Of course it was the 
work of a forgetful and inexperienced cook, who failed to keep 
up the proper balance of the two elements of fire and water. 
Moral: “Don’t let the kettle dry.” 
INSECT DISGUISES. 
By H. L. Grieve, 
( Read before the Association on the 14th February.) 
The many curious and wonderful disguises of insects cannot : 
fail to attract the attention of all who take even the most super- 
ficial interest in entomolgy. We have all heard of that marvel- 
lous and much talked of Leaf Insect, and of the legends sur- 
rounding it. How in one place we are assured most solemnly 
by natives of the Hast that it is formed by very young leaves | 
falling from a tree and changing into an insect, Others tell us 
that itis an insect with real leaves growing out of its body. 
One cannot marvel at these beliefs, for when the creature is | 
alive it remains motionless among the foliage, and so perfectly 
are the veinings and markings of the true leaf copied, that it is 
almost impossible to distinguish it at all, even on the closest 
‘inspection. v i 
But these remarkable insects do not stand alone, for almost. 
throughout the whole. of the insect kingdom are to be found 
numerous more or less striking examples of these disguises all 
serving the same purpose, that of protecting the insect from the — 
enemies that would destroy it. 
I propose to try and give a short account of some of the most 
striking examples among our British and Australian insects: | 
Almost everyone has noticed the very different way in which the. 
bright colours are distributed in moths and butterflies. How in 
the butterfly the colours are:all on the upper surface of the 
wings, and how on the under surface the colouring is always 
less brilliant, and generally blotched in obscure and simple hues. 
On the other hand with moths we find that in most cases the 
bright colours are confined to the upper surface of the lower 
