ORDER II.—STRAIGHT-WINGED INSECTS. 121 
racity of their *‘ better halves,” who cut off their heads and 
then devour their whole body piecemeal. 
The Chinese, aware of their cruel and warlike propensi- 
ties, keep these insects in bamboo cages, and exhibit them 
as prize-fighters, as is done with fighting-cocks. At these 
exhibitions, when two Soothsayers are placed face to face, 
they become at first still and immovable; but after they 
have gazed fixedly at each other for a while, they raise 
their wings, their whole body begins to tremble, they be- 
come furious, and pounce one upon the other, giving blows 
with their long fore legs, which they use as if they were 
swords, and fighting as fiercely as the enraged Hungarian 
hussars in the last war with Austria. At last one of them 
yields, and the conqueror grasps the vanquished one and 
devours him by pieces. 
The eggs of the Soothsayers, in the autumn, are deposit- 
ed in an oval mass attached to the twigs of some creeping 
vines near its base. This mass is incloséd in a silk-like 
covering, resembling a seed-pod, which contains from fifty 
to one hundred eggs, and which remains in this condition 
during the winter, like the cocoons of butterflies and moths. 
In the beginning of the following summer the larve issue 
from these eggs, and exactly resemble the perfect insect, ex- 
cept in being destitute of wings. If these are kept in a 
glass together, they will soon exhibit the warlike disposi- 
tion of their parents, and devour one another, unless they 
are abundantly fed with plant-lice, of which they are very 
fond. On this account, notwithstanding their fierce and 
-quarrelsome disposition, they become indisputably useful in 
destroying noxious insects. 
The life of the Soothsayer continues scarcely two seasons. 
It is hatched at the end of spring, becomes perfect in the 
course of the summer, and dies generally toward the end of 
October. 
F 
