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Others resemble pieces of stick with all the minutiae of
knots and branches, formed by the insects' legs, which are stuck out
rigidly and unsymmetrically. I have often been unable to distinguish
between one of these insects and a real piece of stick, till I satisfied
myself by touching it and found it to be alive. One species, which was
brought me in Borneo, was covered with delicate semitransparent green
foliations, exactly resembling the hepaticae which cover pieces of
rotten stick in the damp forests. Others resemble dead leaves in all
their varieties of colour and form; and to show how perfect is the
protection obtained and how important it is to the possessors of it, the
following incident, observed by Mr. Belt in Nicaragua, is most
instructive. Describing the armies of foraging ants in the forest which
devour every insect they can catch, he says: "I was much surprised with
the behaviour of a green leaf-like locust. This insect stood immovably
among a host of ants, many of which ran over its legs without ever
discovering there was food within their reach.


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