Identifier: sketchesofnatura00tenn (find matches)
Title: Sketches of the natural history of Ceylon : with narratives and anecdotes illustrative of the habits and instincts of the mammalia, birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, &c. : including a monograph of the elephant and a description of the modes of capturing and training it with engravings from original drawings
Year: 1868 (1860s)
Authors: Tennent, James Emerson, Sir, 1804-1869 Metcalf Collection (North Carolina State University). NCRS
Subjects: Zoology Elephants
Publisher: London : Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts
Contributing Library: NCSU Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: NCSU Libraries

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ler bytheir singular beauty, the Cassididce or tortoise beetles,in which the outer shell overlaps the body, and thelimbs are susceptible of being drawn entirely within it.The rim is frequently of a different tint from the centre,and one species which I have seen is quite startlingfrom the brilliancy of its colouring, which gives it theappearance of a ruby enclosed in a frame of pearl; butthis wonderful effect disappears immediately on thedeath of the insect. Orthoptera. Leaf-insects. — But in relation tothe insects of Ceylon the admiration of their colours isstill less exciting than the astonishment created by theforms in which some of the families present themselves;especially the soothsayers (^Mantidce) and walkingleaves. The latter ^, exhibiting the most cunning ofall natures devices for the preservation of her creatures,are found in the jungle in all varieties of hues, fromthe pale yellow of an opening bud to the rich green of^ Fhyllium siccifolium. Chap. XII.) LEAF-IXSECTS. 409
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the full - blownleaf, and thewithered tint ofdecay. So per-fect is the imita-tion of a leaf instructure and ar-ticulation, thatthis amazing in-sect when at restis almost un-distinguishablefrom the foliagearound; not onlyare the wingsmodelled to re-semble ribbedand fibrous fol-licles, but everyjoint of the legsis expanded intoa broad plait likea half-openedleaflet. STICK INSECT AND MAXTI3 410 INSECTS. (Chap. XII. It rests on its abdomen, the legs serving to drag itslowly along, and thus the flatness of its attitude servesstill further to add to the appearance of a leaf. One ofthe most marvellous incidents connected with its organi-sation was exhibited by one which I kept under a glassshade on my table; it laid a quantity of eggs, that, incolour and shape, were not to be distinguished from seeds.They were brown and pentangular, with a short stem,and slightly punctured at the intersections.

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