82 SOCIAL LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD 



honeymoon. We will not forget to provide them with 

 abundant food ; there shall not be the excuse of hunger 

 for what is to follow. 



We are near the end of August. The male Mantis, a 

 slender and elegant lover, judges the time to be pro- 

 pitious. He makes eyes at his powerful companion ; he 

 turns his head towards her ; he bows his neck and 

 raises his thorax. His little pointed face almost seems 

 to wear an expression. For a long time he stands thus 

 motionless, in contemplation of the desired one. The 

 latter, as though indifferent, does not stir. Yet the lover 

 has seized upon a sign of consent : a sign of which I do 

 not know the secret. He approaches: suddenly he erects 

 his wings, which are shaken with a convulsive tremor. 



This is his declaration. He throws himself timidly on 

 the back of his corpulent companion ; he clings to her 

 desperately, and steadies himself. The prelude to the 

 embrace is generally lengthy, and the embrace will some- 

 times last for five or six hours. 



Nothing worthy of notice occurs during this time. 

 Finally the two separate, but they are soon to be made one 

 flesh in a much more intimate fashion. If the poor lover 

 is loved by his mistress as the giver of fertility, she also 

 loves him as the choicest of game. During the day, or at 

 latest on the morrow, he is seized by his companion, who 

 first gnaws through the back of his neck, according to 

 use and wont, and then methodically devours him, mouth- 

 ful by mouthful, leaving only the wings. Here we have 

 no case of jealousy, but simply a depraved taste. 



I had the curiosity to wonder how a second male 

 would be received by a newly fecundated female. The 

 result of my inquiry was scandalous. The Mantis in 



