TWO STRANGE GRASSHOPPERS 



state of things makes us wonder what it is that really con- 

 stitutes rest. 



About the middle of May the Empusa is transformed 

 into her full-grown condition. She is even more re- 

 markable in figure and attire than the Praying Mantis. 

 She still keeps some of her youthful eccentricities — the 

 bust, the weapons on her knees, and the three rows of 

 scales on the lower surface of her body. But she is now 

 no longer twisted into a crook, and is comelier to look 

 upon. Large pale-green wings, pink at the shoulder and 

 swift in flight, cover the white and green stripes that orn- 

 ament the body below. The male Empusa, who is a 

 dandy, adorns himself, like some of the Moths, with 

 feathery antennae. 



When, in the spring, the peasant meets the Empusa, 

 he thinks he sees the common Praying Mantis, who is a 

 daughter of the autumn. They are so much alike that 

 one would expect them to have the same habits. In fact, 

 any one might be tempted, led away by the extraordinary 

 armour, to suspect the Empusa of a mode of life even 

 more atrocious than that of the Mantis. This would 

 be a mistake : for all their war-like aspect the Empusae 

 are peaceful creatures. 



Imprisoned in their wire-gauze bell-jar, either in 

 groups of half a dozen or in separate couples, they at no 

 time lose their placidity. Even in their full-grown state 



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