MANTIS RELIGIOSA. 233 



MANTIS RELIGIOSA. 

 PLATE VIII. 



linn. RoeseVs Ins. ii. Gryll. PI. 1. fig. 1. 2 M. Oratoria, 



Linn RoeseVs Ins. ii. Gryll. PI. 2. fig. 5, and Vol. iv. 



PI. 12. M. Oratoria, Fabr. Lichtenstein Linn. Trans. 



vi. p. 28. 



THIS well-known species is about two inches in 

 length, of a light green colour, inclining to brown in 

 some places, and occasionally almost entirely of the 

 latter hue ; thorax elongate, particularly in the female, 

 and smooth on the surface ; tegmina as long as the 

 abdomen, green and unspotted, each of them with a 

 strong longitudinal nervure, at some distance from 

 the anterior border ; under wings of an elongate tri- 

 angular shape, green anteriorly and of a firmer texture 

 than behind, where the colour is pale white ; the ab^ 

 domen and legs are also green ; the anal spines, as 

 well as those on the anterior legs, deep chestnut. On 

 the inner side of the coxse of the fore-legs, there is 



yellow spot bordered with black a peculiarity 

 which, according to Latreille, serves to distinguish 

 this species from one nearly allied, which is a native 

 of the Cape of Good Hope.' 



This species appears to be general throughout the 

 Mediterranean region, and in many places it occurs 

 in great profusion. It is the M. prie-dieu of the 

 southern provinces of France and Italy. If the 

 synonyms of authors were to be admitted as accurate, 

 it should likewise be regarded as extensively distri- 

 buted over foreign lands, but in many instances they 



