This
end sways as does the head of an excited snake, and curves round as if
to strike, and the boldest of little birds fly off with a note of
apprehension and alarm. I have had these strange creatures under
observation many weeks, and invariably found that when one was
interfered with in any way it used its snake-like aft end as a bogey,
curving it round towards the molesting hand. A fowl that will attack an
8-inch centipede without hesitation, makes a sensational fuss and
clatter when it detects a stick insect, especially when the stick insect
feints, however ineffectually, with its perfectly harmless tail. If it
is capable of imposing upon a sagacious fowl, the effect of its
terrifying aspect upon an unsophisticated little bird can well be
understood.
Richard Kerr, the author of NATURE: CURIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL, describes a
specimen of the stick insect from a cabinet specimen and a pen-and-ink
drawing in the museum of the Hon. W. Rothschild, at Tring. This
particular insect originally came from Malacca, and is jointed somewhat
after the style of a Malacca cane, and of it the author says--"It is
said that when the insect is attacked by its foe, or is in danger of
attack, it has the power to protrude telescopically the tenth (terminal)
segment, which has a mouth-like opening and a tongue-like organ which at
once gives the creature the appearance of a snake.
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