172 NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS. 



standing their fierce, and quarelsome disposition, they 

 become indisputably useful in destroying noxious in- 

 sects. 



The life of the Soothsayer continues scarcely two 

 seasons. It is hatched at the end of spring, becomes 

 perfect in the course of the summer, and dies gener- 

 ally towards the end of October. 



The Walking- Stick. Spectrum. 



s> 



The Walking-Sticks as this English name indicate. 1 

 are very fantastically formed. They are straight lon- 

 gitudinally, like the stem of a pipe, slender, and some 

 of the tropical species are more than a foot long. — 

 They are the largest in proportions of the whole class, 

 and on account of their length, may be considered 

 the whales anion sr insects. 



They somewhat resemble the Soothsayers, but their 

 fore-legs are not sabre-like, nor adapted for catching 

 insects. They are not carnivorous but herbivorous, 

 and are destitute of wings, and although they feed on 

 plants, they are not injurious to vegetation, because 

 they eat principally useless weeds, and the juices 

 which issue from trees. Their antennae and legs are 

 very long, and always extended, and as their bodies 

 are of a gray or yellowish and brown color, it is often 

 difficult to discover them, or to distinguish them from 

 the branch on which they stand, as the insect is often 



