6o CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY, [Bull. 



and slender. Tegmina and wings are present, those of the fe- 

 male often rudimentary. 



The mantids differ from all of the other members of the 

 order in that they are beneficial, feeding largely on other insects. 

 These insects are often called " praying mantids " from the 

 prayerful attitude which they assume with their folded fore legs 

 when at rest or waiting for some insect to come within their 

 reach. 



These introduced insects will be readily recognized from the 

 illustrations on plate VI, and are readily distinguished by their 

 relative size. 



Tenodera sinensis Saussure. Chinese Mantis. Plate VI, i. 



This large Chinese insect was first brought to our attention 

 by an egg-mass received from a nursery in New Haven. The 

 egg-mass was sent Feb. i. 1902, and was found upon Ilex crenata 

 which had been imported direct from Japan the previous spring. 

 Another egg-mass was found in this nursery during the summer 

 of 1903, indicating that the species had lived through the 

 winter.* An adult female of this species was taken near Phila- 

 delphia, October 16, 1897, in the vicinity of large nurseries 

 which imported considerable stock. It soon became thoroughly 

 established, and in 1902 nearly half a barrel of the egg-masses 

 were collected for distribution. A number of egg-masses were 

 brought from Philadelphia to Connecticut in the winter of 1903, 

 but, while a few of these hatched, it is not thought that any 

 reached maturity. The following winter about twenty-five more 

 egg-masses were obtained and distributed in five different lo- 

 calities. About a dozen adult specimens in all were seen in three 

 of these localities the following fall, and in one of these lo- 

 calities a few adults were found the second season. This shows 

 that the insect will live through our winters, but it is doubtful 

 if it has become thoroughly established in the state. 



Measurements. 

 Body Tearmina Pronotum Fore Femora Fore Tibiae Hind Femora 

 Male 87 61 23 14 18 26 



Mantis religiosa Linnaeus. European Praying Mantis. Plate 

 VI, 3- 



* See III Report, Conn. State Entomologist, IQ03, p. 213. 



