852 MR. NELSON ANNANDALE ON THE [ Dec. 4, 
by Sharp. This latter insect makes no attempt to conceal itself, 
but sits among leaves, showing, by reason of its broadened thorax 
and coxe of the first pair of hmbs, a likeness to some gorgeous 
flower. 
In connection with these flower-like Mantids it may not be super- 
fluous to mention the leaf-like form, Deroplatys trigonodera, which 
is sometimes found in the deep jungle near Aring. Though the 
whole visible surface of this species, including that of the tegmina 
and of the legs, is coloured like a dead leaf ', and though the tegmina, 
the thorax, and the two posterior limbs bear irregular leaf-lke 
processes, yet the posterior wings, where they are concealed by the 
tegmina, are coloured deep maroon, veined and rimmed with white. 
A specimen which crawled up my leg from the jungle floor made no 
attempt to fly when captured, but defended itself with its armed 
predatory limbs, drawing blood from my finger. Very possibly this 
species also may be nocturnal, or at least crepuscular, and only use its 
wings in the evening. This is certainly the case with the various 
species of large green Mantide that are common through the whole 
of lower Siam. At Biserat, in the State of Jalor, specimens of 
Mierodula modesta flew into our verandah in the evening on several 
occasions, and settling on the whitewashed wall, would feed on the 
termites and small Orthoptera attracted by the lamp, they them- 
selves showing no inclination towards its flame. The insects 
which they caught did not avoid them in any way, but walked 
straight into their clutches. The larve of Hverodula and allied 
genera are often to be seen sitting on tree-trunks in the middle of 
the day; but I never observed an adult on the wing before 
sunset. 
Ceratomantis saussuret is another interesting Mantis which may 
be taken at Aring. The head, body, and limbs of this species are 
of a dingy yellowish grey, speckled with black. The wings, which 
are unusually broad, are transparent, but the tegmina are marked 
with curious black streaks. The head is prolonged forwards 
between the eyes into a peculiar spike. The predatory limbs are 
broad and flattened dorso-ventrally ; and the sides of the abdomen 
are produced into several irregularly shaped lobes. On the inner 
surface of the fore leg, which is concealed by that of the opposite 
limb except when the insect is struggling with its prey, there is a 
black bar running along the femur. 
One morning in September, I found a specimen of this Mantis 
at Aring in the interior of a fallen tree which I was chopping up 
in the jungle. The wood was rotten and afforded a harbour to 
many other insects, such as beetles and cockroaches. A few days 
earlier another specimen was brought me by a Malay, together 
with a dead Selaginellid among which he had found it. If this 
Mantis is seated among the dead wood, its colour makes it incon- 
spicuous ; but if it is among dead fern-fronds or withered Sela- 
ginellids, its predatory limbs entirely disappear, owing to their 
1 Numerous other species of the same genus are coloured in a similar 
fashion. 
[16] 
