BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 



I Lave already treated of a number of beneficial insects in con- 

 nection with the insects on which they prey, and under this head I 

 shall, for the present, only say a few words about 



TEE REAR-HORSE, alias CAMEL-CRICKET, alias DEVIL'S RID- 

 ING HORSE— Mantis Carolina, Linn. 



(Orthoptera Mantidae.) 

 [Fig. 94.] 



peculiar and predatory insect which is variously known by 

 eith< the above names in different localities, is very fortunately 



quite common in the central and southern parts of Missouri, as w r ell 

 as in most of the Southern States, Its food consists mainly of flies, 

 thou ' is a most voracious cannibal and will devour its own kind 

 as well as any other living insect that conies within its grasp. I have 

 known it to attack various kinds of butterflies, including the male 

 Bug-worm, grasshoppers, and caterpillars of various kinds, and in one 

 insl single female devoured eleven living Colorado Potato- 



bee- luring one night, leaving only the wing-cases and parts of the 

 legs. Ii disdains all dead food, and never makes chase for the living, 

 but warily, patiently and motionless, it watches till its victim is with- 

 in reach of its fore-arms, and then clutches it with a sudden and rapid 



