RAPACITY OF MANTIS. 187 



he sees a strange mlunga approaching, when I 

 fly into the depths of the nearest bush. 



Grasshoppers will greedily eat the sugared 

 leaves, and little lizards, too, come and lap it up 

 as a cat would milk. 



One day, when ueariug a sugared tree, I saw a 

 butterfly struggling violently, but apparently not 

 able to fly away, and when I got closer found 

 that a large green mantis had caught it, and had 

 already bitten off both hind wings before com- 

 mencing to eat the body. I afterwards found 

 many of these rapacious insects lying in wait for 

 the unconscious butterflies under the sugared 

 leaves, but being so nearly the colour of the leaf 

 itself, they were not easily discovered. They 

 are ferocious-looking insects, and hold their prey 

 securely between the second and third joint of 

 the front legs, which are armed with sharp spines, 

 taking bites out of it while still alive. I found 

 one holding an unfortunate Cicada, from which 

 it had already bitten one eye and part of the 

 head, the poor thing a male, as the females 

 are silent, having no sound-producing mem- 



