Title: The wonder of life
Identifier: cu31924001012776 (find matches)
Year: 1915 (1910s)
Authors: Thompson, John Arthur, Sir, 1861-1933
Subjects: Biology; Natural history; Zoology
Publisher: London, A. Melrose, Ltd
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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Kallima, which is conspicuously coloured on the upper surface, but becomes like a withered leaf when it folds its wings together and exposes the brown under surface (Fig. 11). As we have noted, the nervures on the wings look Hke the veins on a leaf, and the sug- gestion of a mid- rib increases the resemblance. Spots on the wings look like holes on the leaf, and so on. In fact, perfection is attained by the combination of a number of items. Even the fact that the colora- tion of the under surface and the position of spots may vary a httle is perhaps ad- vantageous, since the butterfly has thus a general resemblance to different kinds and states of withered leaves. Protective colour-resemblance is seen at its best in cases where the animal can adjust itself to the coloration of the surface on which it is resting; and there is no better illus- tration than that of plaice and other flat-fishes, which are
Text Appearing After Image:
Fio. 85.—Two spiders: I. Caerostris mitralis like a knot on a twig ; and II, Ornitho- soatoides decipiens, like a bird's dropping. (After Vinson and Piokard-Cambridge.)

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