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136
My Studio Neighbors
·
W. Hamilton Gibson
48
But
the
little
harlequin
is
as
wary
a
bird
as
he
was
a
thorn!
No
sooner
do
we
touch
his
head
with
our
finger
than
with
an
audible
"click"
he
is
off
on
a
most
agile
jump,
which
he
extends
with
buzzing
wings,
and
is
even
now
perhaps
aping
a
thorn
among
a
little
group
of
his
fellows
somewhere
among
the
larger
bittersweet
branches.
It
is
only
as
we
capture
one
of
the
little
protean
acrobats
between
our
finger-tips
and
examine
him
with
a
magnifier
that
we
can
really
make
"head
or
tail"
of
his
queer
anatomy.
Even
thus
enlarged
it
is
difficult
to
get
entirely
rid
of
the
idea
of
a
bird.
I
have
shown
a
group
of
the
insects
in
various
attitudes,
the
position
of
the
eyes
alone
serving
as
a
starting-point
for
our
comprehension
of
his
singular
make-up.
The
tall
neck-like
or
thorn-like
prominence
is
then
seen
to
be
a
mere
elongated
helmet,
which
is
prolonged
into
a
steep
angle
behind,
so
as
to
cover
the
back
of
the
creature
like
a
peaked
roof,
a
feature
from
which
the
scientific
name
of
this
particular
group
of
insects
is
derived,
Membracis,
meaning
sharp-edged,
the
sides
of
the
slope
being
covered
by
the
close-fitting
wings,
which,
though
apparently
compact
with
the
body
of
the
insect,
are
nevertheless
always
available
for
instant
and
most
agile
flight.
We
now
discover
two
pairs
of
stout
legs
just
beneath
the
edge
of
the
wings,
a
third
more
slender
pair
being
concealed
behind,
ready
for
immediate
use
in
association
with
these
buzzing
wings
when
the
whim
of
the
midget
prompts
it
to
leap.
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