8 td MR, NELSON ANNANDALE ON THE [ Dee: 4, 
Almost as soon as the Mantis had settled itself on the inflores- 
cence, a sinall, dark, dipterous insect, of a kind very commonly seen 
on the flowers of this species of Melastoma, alighted on one of its 
hinder legs. It was soon joined by others, apparently of the same 
species as itself. They settled quite indiscriminately on the petals 
and on the body and limbs of the Mantis. It was then that the 
significance of the black spot at the tip of the abdomen became 
apparent, for at the distance of a few feet it was impossible to 
distinguish it, except by its symmetrical position, from one of 
these small Diptera. The Mantis made no attempt either to drive 
off or to capture the small flies, for its motions seemed to attract 
rather than to repel them. Aftera short time alarger Dipteron, as 
big as a common house-fly, alighted on the inflorescence within 
reach of the predatory limbs. Then the Mantis became active 
immediately ; the fly was seized, torn in pieces and devoured, not- 
withstanding the presence of a large crowd of natives who had 
collected to watch what was happening. I did not see Hymenopus 
actually catch an insect on its own person ; but very probably this 
was owing to the short duration of my observations. The smaller 
Diptera were unable to discriminate between real and simulated 
vegetable tissue, and there is no reason to suppose that the larger 
ones are more intelligent. I was unable to detect any secretion 
from the integument or any part of the body of the Mantis which 
might have attracted them. It is quite probable that they acted 
gratuitously as lures for its prey, in that they made it appear that 
there was no trap set, if they did not form an actual bait for 
predaceous insects. 
After the Mantis had been on the watch for some little time, 
I noticed that the abdomen was drooping slightly and was 
gradually coming to lie in line with the thorax. As it did so, 
the brown lines on its dorsal surface came into sight, and they 
grew more conspicuous the more it drooped. At last, only a 
very few minutes after I had first noticed this movement, the 
Mantis gave a sudden Jeap into the air and alighted on the 
ground at the distance of several feet from the place where the 
base of the stem would have been had it leaped from a real bush 
of the ‘* Rhododendron.” It then staggered quietly away along 
the ground. When interrupted in its progress it gave a short 
jump; but it was easily recaptured, as its leaping powers were 
chietly developed in the direction of jumping to the ground from 
a height. I was able to watch this drooping of the abdomen and 
final hasty deseriion of the flowers on four separate branches. 
In each case the process commenced when the flowers began to 
droop, and occupied, perhaps, two minutes in completion. The 
drooping of the abdomen was primarily a preparation for leaping. 
Of that I have no doubt, for the body was bent again the moment 
the insect reached the ground, almost as if it were brought 
into position by the action of a powerful spring. Whenever the 
Mantis gave one of its short jumps on the level, the body was 
previously straightened with almost the same rapidity of action. 
[8] 
