MANTIS RELIGIOSA SEIZING PREY. 223 



which it feeds ; the brown, or green, or rosy colouring, 

 venation of the wings, and the twig-Hke appearance of the 

 legs effectually concealing the animal during repose. 

 Fig. 21 shews the Mantis rcligiosa in the act of seizing a fly. 



Fig. 21. Mantis i-eligiosa, in the atLitude oi sc-izing prey. 



The Mantis shewn in the next illustration, a species of 

 Phyllocraiiia from Ceylon, is even more leaflike than the 

 last named insect (Fig. 22). The wings are varied, green 

 and brown, and are folded over the abdomen in exact 

 imitation of a rolled up leaf, whilst the expansions on the 

 thorax and the legs add still further to the simulation of 

 the foliage amongst which the insect rests. 



Pliyliiinu siccifoliuni is another excellent example of 

 protective resemblance. The fore wings are of large area, 

 completely covering the body of the insect when at rest ; 

 they are somewhat rounded, and strongly veined and 

 marked with numerous lines. The young insect is of a 



