PLOIARIA. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Body elongated, filiform; feet ambulatory, 

 very long, with distinct nails; anterior pair 

 shortest, raptatory, with elongated coxae; eyes 

 moderate; labrum very short; antennae elon- 

 gated, setaceous, four-jointed; beak inflected. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Such is the particular form and appearance 

 of the antennae in insects of this genus, that on 

 a slight inspection, a person would almost be 

 disposed to pronounce them ambulatory, and 

 that there are therefore eight feet. But no true 

 insect yet known, has more or less than six feet. 

 As respects the remarkably long and slender 

 form of some of the species, they have con- 

 siderable affinity for the genus Spectrum, and 

 the anterior pair of feet may be compared to 

 those of Mantis and Empusa, with equal 

 aptitude. These feet are much shorter than the 

 others, are used almost altogether for the pur- 



plate 47. 



