The protection is carried further
by those species which retract the first three segments and have large
ocelli on each side of the fourth segment, thus giving to the
caterpillar, when the forepart of its body is elevated, the appearance
of a snake in a threatening attitude.
The blood-red forked tentacle, thrown out of the neck of the larvae of
the genus Papilio when alarmed, is, no doubt, a protection against the
attacks of ichneumons, and may, perhaps, also frighten small birds; and
the habit of turning up the tail possessed by the harmless rove-beetles
(Staphylinidae), giving the idea that they can sting, has, probably, a
similar use. Even an unusual angular form, like a crooked twig or
inorganic substance, may be protective; as Mr. Poulton thinks is the
case with the curious caterpillar of Notodonta ziczac, which, by means
of a few slight protuberances on its body, is able to assume an angular
and very unorganic-looking appearance. But perhaps the most perfect
example of this kind of protection is exhibited by the large caterpillar
of the Royal Persimmon moth (Bombyx regia), a native of the southern
states of North America, and known there as the "Hickory-horned devil.
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