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It is a large green caterpillar, often six inches long, ornamented with
an immense crown of orange-red tubercles, which, if disturbed, it erects
and shakes from side to side in a very alarming manner. In its native
country the negroes believe it to be as deadly as a rattlesnake, whereas
it is perfectly innocuous. The green colour of the body suggests that
its ancestors were once protectively coloured; but, growing too large to
be effectually concealed, it acquired the habit of shaking its head
about in order to frighten away its enemies, and ultimately developed
the crown of tentacles as an addition to its terrifying powers. This
species is beautifully figured in Abbott and Smith's _Lepidopterous
Insects of Georgia_.
_Alluring Coloration._
Besides those numerous insects which obtain protection through their
resemblance to the natural objects among which they live, there are some
whose disguise is not used for concealment, but as a direct means of
securing their prey by attracting them within the enemy's reach. Only a
few cases of this kind of coloration have yet been observed, chiefly
among spiders and mantidae; but, no doubt, if attention were given to
the subject in tropical countries, many more would be discovered.
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