The animals of the north show numberless color phases of interest. One
of the most curious of these is exhibited by several families of
insects in which the outer wings are protectively colored in dull hues
and the under wings brightly colored. For example, there are many
species of moths belonging to the genus Catocala found throughout the
United States. These are insects of good size, the larger ones
measuring three inches in expanse of wings, and the majority of them
being at least two thirds that size. Most of them live during the day
on the bark of trees, with their front wings folded together over the
back. The colors and markings of these wings, as well as of the rest
of the exposed portions of the body, are such as to assimilate closely
with the bark of the tree upon which the insect rests. In such a
situation it requires a sharp eye to detect the presence of the moth,
which, unless disturbed, flies only at night, remaining all day
exposed to the attacks of many enemies. Probably the most important of
these are the birds, especially species like the woodpeckers, which
are constantly exploring all portions of the trunks of trees.
The chief beauty of these Catocalas, as they are seen spread out in
the museum cabinet, lies in the fact that the hind wings, which, when
the moth is at rest in life, are concealed by the front ones, are
brightly colored in contrasting hues of black, red, and white in
various brilliant combinations. These colors, in connection with the
soft and blended tones of the front wings, make a very handsome
insect.
It is easy to see that when one of these Underwing Moths is driven to
flight by a woodpecker or other bark-searching bird it would show
during its rapid, irregular flight the bright colors of the under
wings which would be instantly hidden upon alighting and the very
different coloring of the upper wings blending with the bark would be
substituted. Consequently, the bird would be very likely to be baffled
in its pursuit.
_Coloration of Locusts_
On the rocky hills and sandy plains of New England there are several
species of grasshoppers or locusts that also illustrate these
principles. If you walk along a strip of sandy land in summer, you
start to flight certain locusts which soon alight, and when searched
for will be found closely to assimilate in color the sand upon which
they rest. On a neighboring granite-ribbed hill you will find few if
any of this species of locust, but instead there occur two or three
quite different species, which when at rest closely resemble the
lichen-covered rocks. This resemblance is very striking, and is found
in all stages of the insect's existence. If now you go to a lowland
meadow, still another color phase will be found to prevail--the green
grass is swarming with the so-called "long-horned" grasshoppers,
which are green throughout with linear bodies, and long, slender legs
and antennae.
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