Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 March 1894 — STRANGE CREATURES. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

STRANGE CREATURES.

INSECTS THAT RESEMBLE TWIGS AND LEAVES. Queer Animate Forma That Aboond in the Troplea and Which Are Occasionally Met Within Temperate Climes—lmitative in Color and Form. Like Growing Plants. There is perhaps no large group of insects all the members of which present such extraordinary forms as the so-called walking sticks. These creatures abound in the tropics. Among the most remarkable of these

Insects are the walking leaves. Of one of these we print an illustration. As may be seen from the figure the resemblance to a leaf is very striking,

and the foliate expansion of the legs add greatly to the deceptive appearance of such a creature in its native haunts. This form of walking leaf is rare, only about 20 species being' known. Of the' walking sticks proper there is an almost infinite variety. One species, the diaphero mera femorata. is common in the United

States, where the insects are called “witches’ horses” in the north and various other names in different States of the South and West. One peculiar kind of insect is the phanocles of Mexico. The length of this creature is eleven inches, while the body is no thicker than a crochet needle. Another attenuated kind of walking stick is the phibalsoma of Brazil. Perhaps the ceroys of Nicaragua head the list for beauty and peculiarity of form. The insects of this species seem like so many growing plants. Imitative Creatures. All of these creatures are imitative tn color and form and hence the names, walking sticks and walking

leaves, from the resemblance to sticks and leaves. The bodies of the walking sticks resemble the roughened bark of the trees among which they live, or they seem to be little flecks of moss or lichen growing to the trees. The naturalist, Wallace, in speaking of these insects found in the Moluccas, says that they so closely resemble the dead twigs Of trees as to be absolutely

indistinguishable from them by the eye alone and he had to use the sense of touch to learn the distinction. Of a specimen of walking leaf exhibited in Edinburgh a naturalist says: "For the greatest

period of its life it so exactly resembled the leaf on which It fed that when visitors were shown it they usually, after looking carefully over the plant for a minute or two, declared that they could see no insect. It had then to be more minutely pointed out to them; and although seeing is notoriously said to be believing, It looked so

absolutely the same as the leaves among which it rested that this test rarely satisfied them, and nothing would convince them that there was a real live insect there but the test of touch. It had to be stirred up to make it move.” The end gained by this dose resemblance to its surroundings Is to protect the insect against attack. Some walking sticks, however, have their bodies covered with spines, while others exude a spray so offensive as to repel any predatory, insect? ivorous creature.

THE COMMON WALKING STICK.

PHYLLIUM SCYTHE.

CEROYS.

PHIBALOSOMA AND PHANOCLES.