Clearly, this curious Australian cousin of the Mediterranean27 sea-horses has acquired so marvellous a resemblance to a bit of fucus in order to deceive the eyes of its ever-watchful28 enemies, and to become indistinguishable from the uneatable weed whose colour and form it so surprisingly imitates. Protective resemblances of the sort are extremely common among the pipe-fish family, and the reason why they should be so is no doubt sufficiently29 obvious at first sight to any reflecting mind—such, for example, as the intelligent reader's. Pipe-fish, as everybody knows, are far from giddy. They do not swim in the vortex of piscine dissipation. Being mostly small and defenceless creatures, lurking31 among the marine32 vegetation of the shoals and reefs, they are usually accustomed to cling for support by their snake-like tails to the stalks or leaves of those submerged forests. The omniscient33 schoolboy must often have watched in aquariums the habits and manners of the common sea-horses, twisted together by their long thin bodies into one inextricable mass of living matwork, or anchored firmly with a treble serpentine34 coil to some projecting branch of coralline or of quivering sea-wrack. Bad swimmers by nature, utterly unarmed, and wholly undefended by protective mail, the pipe-fish generally can neither fight nor run away: and therefore they depend entirely35 for their lives upon their peculiar36 skulking37 and lurking habits. Their one mode of defence is not to show themselves; discretion38 is the better part of their valour; they hide as much as possible among the thickest seaweed, and trust to Providence39 to escape observation.
Now, with any animals thus constituted, cowards by hereditary40 predilection41, it must necessarily happen that the more brightly coloured or obtrusive24 individuals will most readily be spotted42 and most unceremoniously devoured43 by their sharp-sighted foes45, the predatory fishes. On the other hand, just in proportion as any particular pipe-fish happens to display any chance resemblance in colour or appearance to the special seaweed in whose folds it lurks46, to that extent will it be likely to escape detection, and to hand on its peculiarities47 to its future descendants. A long-continued course of the simple process thus roughly described must of necessity result at last in the elimination49 of all the most conspicuous23 pipe-fish, and the survival of all those unobtrusive and retiring individuals which in any respect happen to resemble the fucus or coralline among which they dwell. Hence, in many places, various kinds of pipe-fish exhibit an extraordinary amount of imitative likeness50 to the sargasso or seaweed to whose tags they cling; and in the three most highly developed Australian species the likeness becomes so ridiculously close that it is with difficulty one can persuade oneself one is really and truly looking at a fish, and not at a piece of strangely animated51 and locomotive fucus.
Of course, the playful pipe-fish is by no means alone in his assumption of so neat and effective a disguise. Protective resemblances of just the same sort as that thus exhibited by this extraordinary little creature are common throughout the whole range of nature; instances are to be found in abundance, not only among beasts, birds, reptiles52, and fishes, but even among caterpillars53, butterflies, and spiders, of species which preserve the strictest incognito55. Everywhere in the world, animals and plants are perpetually masquerading in various assumed characters; and sometimes their make-up is so exceedingly good as to take in for a while not merely the uninstructed ordinary observer, but even the scientific and systematic56 naturalist57.
A few selected instances of such successful masquerading will perhaps best serve to introduce the general principles upon which all animal mimicry58 ultimately depends. Indeed, naturalists59 of late years have been largely employed in fishing up examples from the ends of the earth and from the depths of the sea for the elucidation60 of this very subject. There is a certain butterfly in the islands of the Malay Archipelago (its learned name, if anybody wishes to be formally introduced, is Kallima paralekta) which always rests among dead or dry leaves, and has itself leaf-like wings, all spotted over at intervals61 with wee speckles to imitate the tiny spots of fungi62 on the foliage63 it resembles. The well-known stick and leaf insects from the same rich neighbourhood in like manner exactly mimic11 the twigs65 and leaves of the forest among which they lurk30: some of them look for all the world like little bits of walking bamboo, while others appear in all varieties of hue, as if opening buds and full-blown leaves and pieces of yellow foliage sprinkled with the tints66 and moulds of decay had of a sudden raised themselves erect68 upon six legs, and begun incontinently to perambulate the Malayan woodlands like vegetable Frankensteins in all their glory. The larva of one such deceptive69 insect, observed in Nicaragua by sharp-eyed Mr. Belt, appeared at first sight like a mere9 fragment of the moss70 on which it rested, its body being all prolonged into little thread-like green filaments, precisely71 imitating the foliage around it. Once more, there are common flies which secure protection for themselves by growing into the counterfeit72 presentment of wasps73 or hornets, and so obtaining immunity74 from the attacks of birds or animals. Many of these curiously75 mimetic insects are banded with yellow and black in the very image of their stinging originals, and have their tails sharpened, in terrorem, into a pretended sting, to give point and verisimilitude to the deceptive resemblance. More curious still, certain South American butterflies of a perfectly76 inoffensive and edible77 family mimic in every spot and line of colour sundry78 other butterflies of an utterly unrelated and fundamentally dissimilar type, but of so disagreeable a taste as never to be eaten by birds or lizards79. The origin of these curious resemblances I shall endeavour to explain (after Messrs. Bates and Wallace) a little farther on: for the present it is enough to observe that the extraordinary resemblances thus produced have often deceived the very elect, and have caused experienced naturalists for a time to stick some deceptive specimen80 of a fly among the wasps and hornets, or some masquerading cricket into the midst of a cabinet full of saw-flies or ichneumons.
Let us look briefly81 at the other instances of protective coloration in nature generally which lead up to these final bizarre exemplifications of the masquerading tendency.
Wherever all the world around is remarkably82 uniform in colour and appearance, all the animals, birds, and insects alike necessarily disguise themselves in its prevailing83 tint67 to escape observation. It does not matter in the least whether they are predatory or defenceless, the hunters or the hunted: if they are to escape destruction or starvation, as the case may be, they must assume the hue of all the rest of nature about them. In the arctic snows, for example, all animals, without exception, must needs be snow-white. The polar bear, if he were brown or black, would immediately be observed among the unvaried ice-fields by his expected prey86, and could never get a chance of approaching his quarry87 unperceived at close quarters. On the other hand, the arctic hare must equally be dressed in a snow-white coat, or the arctic fox would too readily discover him and pounce88 down upon him off-hand; while, conversely, the fox himself, if red or brown, could never creep upon the unwary hare without previous detection, which would defeat his purpose. For this reason, the ptarmigan and the willow89 grouse90 become as white in winter as the vast snow-fields under which they burrow91; the ermine changes his dusky summer coat for the expensive wintry suit beloved of British Themis; the snow-bunting acquires his milk-white plumage; and even the weasel assimilates himself more or less in hue to the unvarying garb92 of arctic nature. To be out of the fashion is there quite literally93 to be out of the world: no half-measures will suit the stern decree of polar biology; strict compliance94 with the law of winter change is absolutely necessary to success in the struggle for existence.
Now, how has this curious uniformity of dress in arctic animals been brought about? Why, simply by that unyielding principle of Nature which condemns95 the less adapted for ever to extinction96, and exalts97 the better adapted to the high places of her hierarchy98 in their stead. The ptarmigan and the snow-buntings that look most like the snow have for ages been least likely to attract the unfavourable attention of arctic fox or prowling ermine; the fox or ermine that came most silently and most unperceived across the shifting drifts has been most likely to steal unawares upon the heedless flocks of ptarmigan and snow-bunting. In the one case protective colouring preserves the animal from himself being devoured; in the other case it enables him the more easily to devour44 others. And since 'Eat or be eaten' is the shrill100 sentence of Nature upon all animal life, the final result is the unbroken whiteness of the arctic fauna101 in all its developments of fur or feather.
Where the colouring of nature is absolutely uniform, as among the arctic snows or the chilly102 mountain tops, the colouring of the animals is uniform too. Where it is slightly diversified103 from point to point, as in the sands of the desert, the animals that imitate it are speckled or diversified with various soft neutral tints. All the birds, reptiles, and insects of Sahara, says Canon Tristram, copy closely the grey or isabelline colour of the boundless104 sands that stretch around them. Lord George Campbell, in his amusing 'Log Letters from the "Challenger,"' mentions a butterfly on the shore at Amboyna which looked exactly like a bit of the beach, until it spread its wings and fluttered away gaily105 to leeward106. Soles and other flat-fish similarly resemble the sands or banks on which they lie, and accommodate themselves specifically to the particular colour of their special bottom. Thus the flounder imitates the muddy bars at the mouths of rivers, where he loves to half bury himself in the congenial ooze107; the sole, who rather affects clean hard sand-banks, is simply sandy and speckled with grey; the plaice, who goes in by preference for a bed of mixed pebbles108, has red and yellow spots scattered109 up and down irregularly among the brown, to look as much as possible like agates110 and carnelians: the brill, who hugs a still rougher ledge111, has gone so far as to acquire raised lumps or tubercles on his upper surface, which make him seem like a mere bit of the shingle-strewn rock on which he reposes112. In short, where the environment is most uniform the colouring follows suit: just in proportion as the environment varies from place to place, the colouring must vary in order to simulate it. There is a deep biological joy in the term 'environment'; it almost rivals the well-known consolatory113 properties of that sweet word 'Mesopotamia.' 'Surroundings,' perhaps, would equally well express the meaning, but then, as Mr. Wordsworth justly observes, 'the difference to me!'
Between England and the West Indies, about the time when one begins to recover from the first bout3 of sea-sickness, we come upon a certain sluggish114 tract99 of ocean, uninvaded by either Gulf115 Stream or arctic current, but slowly stagnating116 in a sort of endless eddy117 of its own, and known to sailors and books of physical geography as the Sargasso Sea. The sargasso or floating seaweed from which it takes its poetical118 name is a pretty yellow rootless alga, swimming in vast quantities on the surface of the water, and covered with tiny bladder-like bodies which at first sight might easily be mistaken for amber119 berries. If you drop a bucket over the ship's side and pull up a tangled mass of this beautiful seaweed, it will seem at first to be all plant alike; but, when you come to examine its tangles120 closely, you will find that it simply swarms121 with tiny crabs122, fishes, and shrimps124, all coloured so precisely to shade that they look exactly like the sargasso itself. Here the colour about is less uniform than in the arctic snows, but, so far as the sargasso-haunting animals are concerned, it comes pretty much to the same thing. The floating mass of weed is their whole world, and they have had to accommodate themselves to its tawny125 hue under pain of death, immediate84 and violent.
Caterpillars and butterflies often show us a further step in advance in the direction of minute imitation of ordinary surroundings. Dr. Weismann has published a very long and learned memoir126, fraught127 with the best German erudition and prolixity128, upon this highly interesting and obscure subject. As English readers, however, not unnaturally129 object to trudging130 through a stout131 volume on the larva of the sphinx moth132, conceived in the spirit of those patriarchal ages of Hilpa and Shalum, when man lived to nine hundred and ninety-nine years, and devoted133 a stray century or so without stint134 to the work of education, I shall not refer them to Dr. Weismann's original treatise135, as well translated and still further enlarged by Mr. Raphael Meldola, but will present them instead with a brief résumé, boiled down and condensed into a patent royal elixir136 of learning. Your caterpillar54, then, runs many serious risks in early life from the annoying persistence137 of sundry evil-disposed birds, who insist at inconvenient138 times in picking him off the leaves of gooseberry bushes and other his chosen places of residence. His infant mortality, indeed, is something simply appalling139, and it is only by laying the eggs that produce him in enormous quantities that his fond mother the butterfly ever succeeds in rearing on an average two of her brood to replace the imago generation just departed. Accordingly, the caterpillar has been forced by adverse140 circumstances to assume the most ridiculous and impossible disguises, appearing now in the shape of a leaf or stem, now as a bundle of dark-green pine needles, and now again as a bud or flower, all for the innocent purpose of concealing141 his whereabouts from the inquisitive143 gaze of the birds his enemies.
When the caterpillar lives on a plant like a grass, the ribs144 or veins146 of which run up and down longitudinally, he is usually striped or streaked147 with darker lines in the same direction as those on his native foliage. When, on the contrary, he lives upon broader leaves, provided with a midrib and branching veins, his stripes and streaks148 (not to be out of the fashion) run transversely and obliquely149, at exactly the same angle as those of his wonted food-plant. Very often, if you take a green caterpillar of this sort away from his natural surroundings, you will be surprised at the conspicuousness150 of his pale lilac or mauve markings; surely, you will think to yourself, such very distinct variegation151 as that must betray him instantly to his watchful enemies. But no; if you replace him gently where you first found him, you will see that the lines exactly harmonise with the joints152 and shading of his native leaf: they are delicate representations of the soft shadow cast by a rib48 or vein145, and the local colour is precisely what a painter would have had to use in order to produce the corresponding effect. The shadow of yellowish green is, of course, always purplish or lilac. It may at first sight seem surprising that a caterpillar should possess so much artistic153 sense and dexterity154; but then the penalty for bungling155 or inharmonious work is so very severe as necessarily to stimulate156 his imitative genius. Birds are for ever hunting him down among the green leaves, and only those caterpillars which effectually deceive them by their admirable imitations can ever hope to survive and become the butterflies who hand on their larval peculiarities to after ages. Need I add that the variations are, of course, unconscious, and that accident in the first place is ultimately answerable for each fresh step in the direction of still closer simulation?
The geometric moths157 have brown caterpillars, which generally stand erect when at rest on the branches of trees and so resemble small twigs; and, in order that the resemblance may be the more striking, they are often covered with tiny warts158 which look like buds or knots upon the surface. The larva of that familiar and much-dreaded insect, the death's-head hawk-moth, feeds as a rule on the foliage of the potato, and its very varied85 colouring, as Sir John Lubbock has pointed159 out, so beautifully harmonises with the brown of the earth, the yellow and green of the leaves, and the faint purplish blue of the lurid160 flowers, that it can only be distinguished161 when the eye happens accidentally to focus itself exactly upon the spot occupied by the unobtrusive caterpillar. Other larv? which frequent pine trees have their bodies covered with tufts of green hairs that serve to imitate the peculiar pine foliage. One queer little caterpillar, which lives upon the hoary162 foliage of the sea-buckthorn, has a grey-green body, just like the buckthorn leaves, relieved by a very conspicuous red spot which really represents in size and colour one of the berries that grow around it. Finally the larva of the elephant hawk-moth, which grows to a very large size, has a pair of huge spots that seem like great eyes; and direct experiment establishes the fact that small birds mistake it for a young snake, and stand in terrible awe2 of it accordingly, though it is in reality a perfectly harmless insect, and also, as I am credibly163 informed (for I cannot speak upon the point from personal experience), a very tasty and well-flavoured insect, and 'quite good to eat' too, says an eminent164 authority. One of these big snake-like caterpillars once frightened Mr. Bates himself on the banks of the Amazon.
Now, I know that cantankerous165 person, the universal objector, has all along been bursting to interrupt me and declare that he himself frequently finds no end of caterpillars, and has not the slightest difficulty at all in distinguishing them with the naked eye from the leaves and plants among which they are lurking. But observe how promptly166 we crush and demolish167 this very inconvenient and disconcerting critic. The caterpillars he finds are almost all hairy ones, very conspicuous and easy to discover—'woolly bears,' and such like common and unclean creatures—and the reason they take no pains to conceal142 themselves from his unobservant eyes is simply this: nobody on earth wants to discover them. For either they are protectively encased in horrid168 hairs, which get down your throat and choke you and bother you (I speak as a bird, from the point of view of a confirmed caterpillar eater), or else they are bitter and nasty to the taste, like the larva of the spurge moth and the machaon butterfly. These are the ordinary brown and red and banded caterpillars that the critical objector finds in hundreds on his peregrinations about his own garden—commonplace things which the experienced naturalist has long since got utterly tired of. But has your rash objector ever lighted upon that rare larva which lives among the periwinkles, and exactly imitates a periwinkle petal169? Has he ever discovered those deceptive creatures which pretend for all the world to be leaves of lady's-bedstraw, or dress themselves up as flowers of buttonweed? Has he ever hit upon those immoral170 caterpillars which wriggle171 through life upon the false pretence172 that they are only the shadows of projecting ribs on the under surface of a full-grown lime leaf? No, not he; he passes them all by without one single glance of recognition; and when the painstaking173 naturalist who has hunted them every one down with lens and butterfly net ventures tentatively to describe their personal appearance, he comes up smiling with his great russet woolly bear comfortably nestling upon a green cabbage leaf, and asks you in a voice of triumphant174 demonstration175, where is the trace of concealment176 or disguise in that amiable177 but very inedible178 insect? Go to, Sir Critic, I will have none of you; I only use you for a metaphorical179 marionette180 to set up and knock down again, as Mr. Punch in the street show knocks down the policeman who comes to arrest him, and the grimy black personage of sulphurous antecedents who pops up with a fizz through the floor of his apartment.
Queerer still than the caterpillars which pretend to be leaves or flowers for the sake of protection are those truly diabolical181 and perfidious182 Brazilian spiders which, as Mr. Bates observed, are brilliantly coloured with crimson183 and purple, but 'double themselves up at the base of leaf-stalks, so as to resemble flower buds, and thus deceive the insects upon which they prey.' There is something hideously184 wicked and cruel in this lowest depth of imitative infamy185. A flower-bud is something so innocent and childlike; and to disguise oneself as such for purposes of murder and rapine argues the final abyss of arachnoid perfidy186. It reminds one of that charming and amiable young lady in Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Dynamiter,' who amused herself in moments of temporary gaiety by blowing up inhabited houses, inmates187 and all, out of pure lightness of heart and girlish frivolity188. An Indian mantis189 or praying insect, a little less wicked, though no less cruel than the spiders, deceives the flies who come to his arms under the false pretence of being a quiet leaf, upon which they may light in safety for rest and refreshment190. Yet another abandoned member of the same family, relying boldly upon the resources of tropical nature, gets itself up as a complete orchid191, the head and fangs192 being moulded in the exact image of the beautiful blossom, and the arms folding treacherously193 around the unhappy insect which ventures to seek for honey in its deceptive jaws194.
Happily, however, the tyrants195 and murderers do not always have things all their own way. Sometimes the inoffensive prey turn the tables upon their torturers with distinguished success. For example, Mr. Wallace noticed a kind of sand-wasp, in Borneo, much given to devouring196 crickets; but there was one species of cricket which exactly reproduced the features of the sand-wasps, and mixed among them on equal terms without fear of detection. Mr. Belt saw a green leaf-like locust197 in Nicaragua, overrun by foraging198 ants in search of meat for dinner, but remaining perfectly motionless all the time, and evidently mistaken by the hungry foragers for a real piece of the foliage it mimicked199. So thoroughly200 did this innocent locust understand the necessity for remaining still, and pretending to be a leaf under all advances, that even when Mr. Belt took it up in his hands it never budged201 an inch, but strenuously202 preserved its rigid203 leaf-like attitude. As other insects 'sham204 dead,' this ingenious creature shammed205 vegetable.
In order to understand how cases like these begin to arise, we must remember that first of all they start of necessity from very slight and indefinite resemblances, which succeed as it were by accident in occasionally eluding206 the vigilance of enemies. Thus, there are stick insects which only look like long round cylinders207, not obviously stick-shaped, but rudely resembling a bit of wood in outline only. These imperfectly mimetic insects may often obtain a casual immunity from attack by being mistaken for a twig64 by birds or lizards. There are others, again, in which natural selection has gone a step further, so as to produce upon their bodies bark-like colouring and rough patches which imitate knots, wrinkles, and leaf-buds. In these cases the protection given is far more marked, and the chances of detection are proportionately lessened208. But sharp-eyed birds, with senses quickened by hunger, the true mother of invention, must learn at last to pierce such flimsy disguises, and suspect a stick insect in the most innocent-looking and apparently209 rigid twigs. The final step, therefore, consists in the production of that extraordinary actor, the Xeroxylus laceratus, whose formidable name means no more than 'ragged210 dry-stick,' and which really mimics211 down to the minutest particular a broken twig, overgrown with mosses212, liverworts, and lichens213.
Take, on the other hand, the well-known case of that predaceous mantis which exactly imitates the white ants, and, mixing with them like one of their own horde214, quietly devours215 a stray fat termite216 or so, from time to time, as occasion offers. Here we must suppose that the ancestral mantis happened to be somewhat paler and smaller than most of its fellow-tribesmen, and so at times managed unobserved to mingle217 with the white ants, especially in the shade or under a dusky sky, much to the advantage of its own appetite. But the termites218 would soon begin to observe the visits of their suspicious friend, and to note their coincidence with the frequent mysterious disappearance219 of a fellow-townswoman, evaporated into space, like the missing young women in neat cloth jackets who periodically vanish from the London suburbs. In proportion as their reasonable suspicions increased, the termites would carefully avoid all doubtful looking mantises220; but, at the same time, they would only succeed in making the mantises which survived their inquisition grow more and more closely to resemble the termite pattern in all particulars. For any mantis which happened to come a little nearer the white ants in hue or shape would thereby221 be enabled to make a more secure meal upon his unfortunate victims; and so the very vigilance which the ants exerted against his vile222 deception223 would itself react in time against their own kind, by leaving only the most ruthless and indistinguishable of their foes to become the parents of future generations of mantises.
Once more, the beetles225 and flies of Central America must have learned by experience to get out of the way of the nimble Central American lizards with great agility226, cunning, and alertness. But green lizards are less easy to notice beforehand than brown or red ones; and so the lizards of tropical countries are almost always bright green, with complementary shades of yellow, grey, and purple, just to fit them in with the foliage they lurk among. Everybody who has ever hunted the green tree-toads on the leaves of waterside plants on the Riviera must know how difficult it is to discriminate228 these brilliant leaf-coloured creatures from the almost identical background on which they rest. Now, just in proportion as the beetles and flies grow still more cautious, even the green lizards themselves fail to pick up a satisfactory livelihood229; and so at last we get that most remarkable230 Nicaraguan form, decked all round with leaf-like expansions, and looking so like the foliage on which it rests that no beetle224 on earth can possibly detect it. The more cunning you get your detectives, the more cunning do the thieves become to outwit them.
Look, again, at the curious life-history of the flies which dwell as unbidden guests or social parasites231 in the nests and hives of wild honey-bees. These burglarious flies are belted and bearded in the very selfsame pattern as the bumble-bees themselves; but their larv? live upon the young grubs of the hive, and repay the unconscious hospitality of the busy workers by devouring the future hope of their unwilling232 hosts. Obviously, any fly which entered a bee-hive could only escape detection and extermination233 at the hands (or stings) of its outraged234 inhabitants, provided it so far resembled the real householders as to be mistaken at a first glance by the invaded community for one of its own numerous members. Thus any fly which showed the slightest superficial resemblance to a bee might at first be enabled to rob honey for a time with comparative impunity235, and to lay its eggs among the cells of the helpless larv?. But when once the vile attempt was fairly discovered, the burglars could only escape fatal detection from generation to generation just in proportion as they more and more closely approximated to the shape and colour of the bees themselves. For, as Mr. Belt has well pointed out, while the mimicking species would become naturally more numerous from age to age, the senses of the mimicked species would grow sharper and sharper by constant practice in detecting and punishing the unwelcome intruders.
It is only in external matters, however, that the appearance of such mimetic species can ever be altered. Their underlying236 points of structure and formative detail always show to the very end (if only one happens to observe them) their proper place in a scientific classification. For instance, these same parasitic237 flies which so closely resemble bees in their shape and colour have only one pair of wings apiece, like all the rest of the fly order, while the bees of course have the full complement227 of two pairs, an upper and an under, possessed238 by them in common with all other well-conducted members of the hymenopterous family. So, too, there is a certain curious American insect, belonging to the very unsavoury tribe which supplies London lodging-houses with one of their most familiar entomological specimens239; and this cleverly disguised little creature is banded and striped in every part exactly like a local hornet, for whom it evidently wishes itself to be mistaken. If you were travelling in the wilder parts of Colorado you would find a close resemblance to Buffalo240 Bill was no mean personal protection. Hornets, in fact, are insects to which birds and other insectivorous animals prefer to give a very wide berth241, and the reason why they should be imitated by a defenceless beetle must be obvious to the intelligent student. But while the vibrating wing-cases of this deceptive masquerader are made to look as thin and hornet-like as possible, in all underlying points of structure any competent naturalist would see at once that the creature must really be classed among the noisome242 Hemiptera. I seldom trouble the public with a Greek or Latin name, but on this occasion I trust I may be pardoned for not indulging in all the ingenuous243 bluntness of the vernacular244.
Sometimes this effective mimicry of stinging insects seems to be even consciously performed by the tiny actors. Many creatures, which do not themselves possess stings, nevertheless endeavour to frighten their enemies by assuming the characteristic hostile attitudes of wasps or hornets. Everybody in England must be well acquainted with those common British earwig-looking insects, popularly known as the devil's coach-horses, which, when irritated or interfered245 with, cock up their tails behind them in the most aggressive fashion, exactly reproducing the threatening action of an angry scorpion247. Now, as a matter of fact, the devil's coach-horse is quite harmless, but I have often seen, not only little boys and girls, but also chickens, small birds, and shrew-mice, evidently alarmed at his minatory248 attitude. So, too, the bumble-bee flies, which are inoffensive insects got up in sedulous249 imitation of various species of wild bee, flit about and buzz angrily in the sunlight, quite after the fashion of the insects they mimic; and when disturbed they pretend to get excited, and seem as if they wished to fly in their assailant's face and roundly sting him. This curious instinct may be put side by side with the parallel instinct of shamming250 dead, possessed by many beetles and other small defenceless species.
Certain beetles have also been modified so as exactly to imitate wasps; and in these cases the beetle waist, usually so solid, thick, and clumsy, grows as slender and graceful251 as if the insects had been supplied with corsets by a fashionable West End house. But the greatest refinement252 of all is perhaps that noticed in certain allied253 species which mimic bees, and which have acquired useless little tufts of hair on their hind246 shanks to represent the dilated254 and tufted pollen-gathering apparatus255 of the true bees.
I have left to the last the most marvellous cases of mimicry of all—those noticed among South American butterflies by Mr. Bates, who found that certain edible kinds exactly resembled a handsome and conspicuous but bitter-tasted species 'in every shade and stripe of colour.' Several of these South American imitative insects long deceived the very entomologists; and it was only by a close inspection256 of their structural257 differences that the utter distinctness of the mimickers and the mimicked was satisfactorily settled. Scarcely less curious is the case of Mr. Wallace's Malayan orioles, two species of which exactly copy two pugnacious258 honey-suckers in every detail of plumage and coloration. As the honey-suckers are avoided by birds of prey, owing to their surprising strength and pugnacity259, the orioles gain immunity from attack by their close resemblance to the protected species. When Dr. Sclater, the distinguished ornithologist260, was examining Mr. Forbes's collections from Timorlaut, even his experienced eye was so taken in by another of these deceptive bird-mimicries that he classified two birds of totally distinct families as two different individuals of the same species.
Even among plants a few instances of true mimicry have been observed. In the stony261 African Karoo, where every plant is eagerly sought out for food by the scanty262 local fauna, there are tubers which exactly resemble the pebbles around them; and I have little doubt that our perfectly harmless English dead-nettle secures itself from the attacks of browsing263 animals by its close likeness to the wholly unrelated, but well-protected, stinging-nettle.
Finally, we must not forget the device of those animals which not merely assimilate themselves in colour to the ordinary environment in a general way, but have also the power of adapting themselves at will to whatever object they may happen to lie against. Cases like that of the ptarmigan, which in summer harmonises with the brown heather and grey rock, while in winter it changes to the white of the snow-fields, lead us up gradually to such ultimate results of the masquerading tendency. There is a tiny crustacean264, the chameleon265 shrimp123, which can alter its hue to that of any material on which it happens to rest. On a sandy bottom it appears grey or sand-coloured; when lurking among seaweed it becomes green, or red, or brown, according to the nature of its momentary266 background. Probably the effect is quite unconscious, or at least involuntary, like blushing with ourselves—and nobody ever blushes on purpose, though they do say a distinguished poet once complained that an eminent actor did not follow his stage directions because he omitted to obey the rubrical remark, 'Here Harold purples with anger.' The change is produced by certain automatic muscles which force up particular pigment267 cells above the others, green coming to the top on a green surface, red on a ruddy one, and brown or grey where the circumstances demand them. Many kinds of fish similarly alter their colour to suit their background by forcing forward or backward certain special pigment-cells known as chromatophores, whose various combinations produce at will almost any required tone or shade. Almost all reptiles and amphibians268 possess the power of changing their hue in accordance with their environment in a very high degree; and among certain tree-toads and frogs it is difficult to say what is the normal colouring, as they vary indefinitely from buff and dove-colour to chocolate-brown, rose, and even lilac.
But of all the particoloured reptiles the chameleon is by far the best known, and on the whole the most remarkable for his inconstancy of coloration. Like a lacertine Vicar of Bray269, he varies incontinently from buff to blue, and from blue back to orange again, under stress of circumstances. The mechanism270 of this curious change is extremely complex. Tiny corpuscles of different pigments271 are sometimes hidden in the depths of the chameleon's skin, and sometimes spread out on its surface in an interlacing network of brown or purple. In addition to this prime colouring matter, however, the animal also possesses a normal yellow pigment, and a bluish layer in the skin which acts like the iridium glass so largely employed by Dr. Salviati, being seen as straw-coloured with a transmitted light, but assuming a faint lilac tint against an opaque272 absorbent surface. While sleeping the chameleon becomes almost white in the shade, but if light falls upon him he slowly darkens by an automatic process. The movements of the corpuscles are governed by opposite nerves and muscles, which either cause them to bury themselves under the true skin, or to form an opaque ground behind the blue layer, or to spread out in a ramifying mass on the outer surface, and so produce as desired almost any necessary shade of grey, green, black, or yellow. It is an interesting fact that many chrysalids undergo precisely similar changes of colour in adaptation to the background against which they suspend themselves, being grey on a grey surface, green on a green one, and even half black and half red when hung up against pieces of particoloured paper.
Nothing could more beautifully prove the noble superiority of the human intellect than the fact that while our grouse are russet-brown to suit the bracken and heather, and our caterpillars green to suit the lettuce273 and the cabbage leaves, our British soldier should be wisely coated in brilliant scarlet274 to form an effective mark for the rifles of an enemy. Red is the easiest of all colours at which to aim from a great distance; and its selection by authority for the uniform of unfortunate Tommy Atkins reminds me of nothing so much as Mr. McClelland's exquisite275 suggestion that the peculiar brilliancy of the Indian river carps makes them serve 'as a better mark for kingfishers, terns, and other birds which are destined276 to keep the number of these fishes in check.' The idea of Providence and the Horse Guards conspiring277 to render any creature an easier target for the attacks of enemies is worthy278 of the decadent279 school of natural history, and cannot for a moment be dispassionately considered by a judicious280 critic. Nowadays we all know that the carp are decked in crimson and blue to please their partners, and that soldiers are dressed in brilliant red to please the ?sthetic authorities who command them from a distance.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
tangled
|
|
| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
awe
|
|
| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
bout
|
|
| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
attentive
|
|
| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
fronds
|
|
| n.蕨类或棕榈类植物的叶子( frond的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
aquariums
|
|
| n.养鱼缸，水族馆( aquarium的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
mimicking
|
|
| v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
mimic
|
|
| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
knight
|
|
| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
fins
|
|
| [医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
appendages
|
|
| n.附属物( appendage的名词复数 )；依附的人；附属器官；附属肢体（如臂、腿、尾等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
spines
|
|
| n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 )；脊椎；（动植物的）刺；书脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
flattened
|
|
| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
filaments
|
|
| n.（电灯泡的）灯丝( filament的名词复数 )；丝极；细丝；丝状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
hue
|
|
| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
prehensile
|
|
| adj.（足等）适于抓握的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
draught
|
|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
conspicuous
|
|
| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
obtrusive
|
|
| adj.显眼的；冒失的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
microscopic
|
|
| adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
vegetates
|
|
| v.过单调呆板的生活( vegetate的第三人称单数 )；植物似地生长；（瘤、疣等）长大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
Mediterranean
|
|
| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
watchful
|
|
| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
lurk
|
|
| n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
lurking
|
|
| 潜在 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
marine
|
|
| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
omniscient
|
|
| adj.无所不知的；博识的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
serpentine
|
|
| adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
skulking
|
|
| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
discretion
|
|
| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
providence
|
|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
hereditary
|
|
| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
predilection
|
|
| n.偏好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
devoured
|
|
| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
devour
|
|
| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
foes
|
|
| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
lurks
|
|
| n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
peculiarities
|
|
| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
rib
|
|
| n.肋骨，肋状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
elimination
|
|
| n.排除，消除，消灭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
likeness
|
|
| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
animated
|
|
| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
reptiles
|
|
| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
caterpillars
|
|
| n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 )；履带 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
caterpillar
|
|
| n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
incognito
|
|
| adv.匿名地；n.隐姓埋名；adj.化装的，用假名的，隐匿姓名身份的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
systematic
|
|
| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
naturalist
|
|
| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
mimicry
|
|
| n.（生物）拟态，模仿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
naturalists
|
|
| n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
elucidation
|
|
| n.说明，阐明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
fungi
|
|
| n.真菌，霉菌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
foliage
|
|
| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
twig
|
|
| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
twigs
|
|
| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
tints
|
|
| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
tint
|
|
| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
deceptive
|
|
| adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
moss
|
|
| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
counterfeit
|
|
| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
wasps
|
|
| 黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
immunity
|
|
| n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
edible
|
|
| n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
sundry
|
|
| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
lizards
|
|
| n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
specimen
|
|
| n.样本，标本 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
briefly
|
|
| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
remarkably
|
|
| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
prevailing
|
|
| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
varied
|
|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
quarry
|
|
| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
pounce
|
|
| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
willow
|
|
| n.柳树 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
grouse
|
|
| n.松鸡；v.牢骚，诉苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
burrow
|
|
| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
garb
|
|
| n.服装，装束 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
literally
|
|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
compliance
|
|
| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
condemns
|
|
| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
extinction
|
|
| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
exalts
|
|
| 赞扬( exalt的第三人称单数 )； 歌颂； 提升； 提拔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
hierarchy
|
|
| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
tract
|
|
| n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
shrill
|
|
| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
fauna
|
|
| n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
chilly
|
|
| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
diversified
|
|
| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
boundless
|
|
| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
gaily
|
|
| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
leeward
|
|
| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
ooze
|
|
| n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
pebbles
|
|
| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
agates
|
|
| n.玛瑙( agate的名词复数 )；玛瑙制（或装有玛瑙的）工具； （小孩玩的）玛瑙纹玩具弹子；5。5磅铅字 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
ledge
|
|
| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
reposes
|
|
| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
consolatory
|
|
| adj.慰问的，可藉慰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
sluggish
|
|
| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
gulf
|
|
| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
stagnating
|
|
| v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
eddy
|
|
| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
poetical
|
|
| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
amber
|
|
| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
tangles
|
|
| （使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
swarms
|
|
| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
crabs
|
|
| n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
shrimp
|
|
| n.虾，小虾；矮小的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
shrimps
|
|
| n.虾，小虾( shrimp的名词复数 )；矮小的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
tawny
|
|
| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
memoir
|
|
| n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
fraught
|
|
| adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
prolixity
|
|
| n.冗长，罗嗦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
unnaturally
|
|
| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
trudging
|
|
| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
moth
|
|
| n.蛾，蛀虫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
stint
|
|
| v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
treatise
|
|
| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
elixir
|
|
| n.长生不老药，万能药 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
persistence
|
|
| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
inconvenient
|
|
| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
appalling
|
|
| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
adverse
|
|
| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
concealing
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
inquisitive
|
|
| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
ribs
|
|
| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
vein
|
|
| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
veins
|
|
| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
streaked
|
|
| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
streaks
|
|
| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
obliquely
|
|
| adv.斜； 倾斜； 间接； 不光明正大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
conspicuousness
|
|
| 显著，卓越，突出； 显著性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
151
variegation
|
|
| n.上色，彩色，斑；彩斑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
joints
|
|
| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
artistic
|
|
| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
dexterity
|
|
| n.(手的)灵巧，灵活 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
bungling
|
|
| adj.笨拙的，粗劣的v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的现在分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
stimulate
|
|
| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
moths
|
|
| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
warts
|
|
| n.疣( wart的名词复数 )；肉赘；树瘤；缺点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
lurid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
hoary
|
|
| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
credibly
|
|
| ad.可信地；可靠地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
eminent
|
|
| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
cantankerous
|
|
| adj.爱争吵的，脾气不好的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
demolish
|
|
| v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
horrid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
petal
|
|
| n.花瓣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
immoral
|
|
| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
wriggle
|
|
| v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
pretence
|
|
| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
painstaking
|
|
| adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
triumphant
|
|
| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
demonstration
|
|
| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
concealment
|
|
| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
amiable
|
|
| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
inedible
|
|
| adj.不能吃的，不宜食用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
metaphorical
|
|
| a.隐喻的，比喻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
marionette
|
|
| n.木偶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
diabolical
|
|
| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
perfidious
|
|
| adj.不忠的，背信弃义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
hideously
|
|
| adv.可怕地，非常讨厌地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
infamy
|
|
| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
perfidy
|
|
| n.背信弃义，不忠贞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
inmates
|
|
| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
frivolity
|
|
| n.轻松的乐事，兴高采烈；轻浮的举止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
mantis
|
|
| n.螳螂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
refreshment
|
|
| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
orchid
|
|
| n.兰花，淡紫色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
fangs
|
|
| n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
treacherously
|
|
| 背信弃义地； 背叛地； 靠不住地； 危险地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
jaws
|
|
| n.口部；嘴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
tyrants
|
|
| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
devouring
|
|
| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
197
locust
|
|
| n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
198
foraging
|
|
| v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
199
mimicked
|
|
| v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的过去式和过去分词 )；酷似 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
thoroughly
|
|
| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
201
budged
|
|
| v.（使）稍微移动( budge的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）改变主意，（使）让步 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
strenuously
|
|
| adv.奋发地，费力地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
rigid
|
|
| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
sham
|
|
| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
205
shammed
|
|
| 假装，冒充( sham的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
206
eluding
|
|
| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的现在分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
207
cylinders
|
|
| n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
208
lessened
|
|
| 减少的，减弱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
209
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
210
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
211
mimics
|
|
| n.模仿名人言行的娱乐演员，滑稽剧演员( mimic的名词复数 )；善于模仿的人或物v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的第三人称单数 )；酷似 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
212
mosses
|
|
| n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
213
lichens
|
|
| n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
214
horde
|
|
| n.群众，一大群 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
215
devours
|
|
| 吞没( devour的第三人称单数 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
216
termite
|
|
| n.白蚁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
217
mingle
|
|
| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
218
termites
|
|
| n.白蚁( termite的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
219
disappearance
|
|
| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
220
mantises
|
|
| n.螳螂( mantis的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
221
thereby
|
|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
222
vile
|
|
| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
223
deception
|
|
| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
224
beetle
|
|
| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
225
beetles
|
|
| n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
226
agility
|
|
| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
227
complement
|
|
| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
228
discriminate
|
|
| v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
229
livelihood
|
|
| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
230
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
231
parasites
|
|
| 寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
232
unwilling
|
|
| adj.不情愿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
233
extermination
|
|
| n.消灭，根绝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
234
outraged
|
|
| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
235
impunity
|
|
| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
236
underlying
|
|
| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
237
parasitic
|
|
| adj.寄生的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
238
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
239
specimens
|
|
| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
240
buffalo
|
|
| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
241
berth
|
|
| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
242
noisome
|
|
| adj.有害的，可厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
243
ingenuous
|
|
| adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
244
vernacular
|
|
| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
245
interfered
|
|
| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
246
hind
|
|
| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
247
scorpion
|
|
| n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
248
minatory
|
|
| adj.威胁的；恫吓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
249
sedulous
|
|
| adj.勤勉的，努力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
250
shamming
|
|
| 假装，冒充( sham的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
251
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
252
refinement
|
|
| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
253
allied
|
|
| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
254
dilated
|
|
| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
255
apparatus
|
|
| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
256
inspection
|
|
| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
257
structural
|
|
| adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
258
pugnacious
|
|
| adj.好斗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
259
pugnacity
|
|
| n.好斗，好战 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
260
ornithologist
|
|
| n.鸟类学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
261
stony
|
|
| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
262
scanty
|
|
| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
263
browsing
|
|
| v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
264
crustacean
|
|
| n.甲壳动物；adj.甲壳纲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
265
chameleon
|
|
| n.变色龙，蜥蜴；善变之人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
266
momentary
|
|
| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
267
pigment
|
|
| n.天然色素，干粉颜料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
268
amphibians
|
|
| 两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
269
bray
|
|
| n.驴叫声, 喇叭声；v.驴叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
270
mechanism
|
|
| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
271
pigments
|
|
| n.（粉状）颜料( pigment的名词复数 )；天然色素 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
272
opaque
|
|
| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
273
lettuce
|
|
| n.莴苣；生菜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
274
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
275
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
276
destined
|
|
| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
277
conspiring
|
|
| 密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
278
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
279
decadent
|
|
| adj.颓废的，衰落的，堕落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
280
judicious
|
|
| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |