Illustrated with 28 photographs Norton stron 110 stan db (podniszczona lekko obwoluta, podpisana, nieaktualne pieczątki) ISBN Of all the fascinating methods of self-defense found in nature, perhaps the most interesting is the way in which otherwise helpless creatures hide themselves from their enemies. In this lively presentation, James Poling describes more than two dozen of the animals which are most adept at the use of camouflage to insure survival. Among the obvious examples of natural camouflage are green grasshoppers in a spring meadow, mottled deer in fall foliage, and toads looking like the lumps of dirt on which they squat, but the author points out that these are only a very few examples of animal self-defense. Far more ingenious are the caterpillars which so resemble twigs that they are almost invisible on a tree branch, or the reed bitterns who hide among the tall grasses of their native marshes and even sway with the reeds when the wind blows. Still other examples of camouflage in nature are the helpless animals who masquerade as dangerous or inedible ones. Harmless field snakes appear to be deadly coral snakes; viceroy butterflies look like the bitter-tasting monarchs, and the stingless robber fly mimics perfectly the actions and appearance of the bumble bee. The author discusses the "innocent eyes" of predators which actually aid the animals in disguise. Experiments which show how the mimics have made use of the weaknesses of their enemies are also presented. An additional chapter describes in easily understandable terms the part which the theory of natural selection plays in the development of animal disguises of all types. Two Twigs Underwing Moths Two Reed Bitterns One Reed Bittern Walking Stick Insect Tree Trunk and Insect Disguised Beetle Inch Worm Stillingia Insect Geometrid Caterpillar Mantid Dead-Leaf Butterflies Sargassum Sea Fish Sargassum Sea Frogfish Australian Sea Dragon Xenophora Decorator Crab Harlequin Cabbage Bug Coral Snake (top) Scarlet King Snake (bottom) Lycid Beetles Monarch Butterfly Robber Fly and Bumblebee A lligator Fly's Head False Eyes Fish Caterpillar Peacock Butterfly
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