Séance du 8 Avril î9Pt 79 



rident caught and held tight both its arms; a prolonged 

 struggle ensued until the captured mantis began to eat 

 the thorax of its captor which shortly alter loosened its 

 grip, whereupon the whole mantis fled precipitately. The 

 headless beast resumed its defiant attitude and retained 

 it for upwards of two hours occasionally shooting out 

 its arms or swaying from side to side just like an unin- 

 jured individual. It was finally seized by a third assailant 

 who ate it right down to the metathorax ; the last pair of 

 legs and the abdomen continued to struggle for many 

 hours. 



At the end of the second day twelve out of the 

 twenty-five Empusae had been partly devoured, but on 

 this second day some were attacked from the side or 

 from behind and in these cases the abdomen was first 

 cut off from the body and devoured and the head and 

 part of the thorax left. Bits of mantids full of life could 

 be seen standing in just the attitude that the corres- 

 ponding bits of whole mantids would take. I observed 

 one mantis, whose head had been eaten and also the 

 whole of one front leg and all but the coxa of the other, 

 stand at bay with its one coxa held straight out from 

 the body and even occasionally change its |)osition or 

 take a sie]) ; more than si\ hours after the time I first 

 noticed it, it was still standing firm. 



At the end of the third day only {\\(? wers left, of 

 these four were taken out to be brought up in separate 

 boxes. Two died shortly after. 



Owing probably to the cold weather and to the dif- 

 ficulty of getting suitable food in the winter months we 

 were unable to rear either the remaining two or the one 

 separated at first. As, however, many years may pass 



