ORTHOPTERA. 289 



Sparmann, another species is worshipped by the Hottentots. If by 

 chance a Mantis should settle on a person, this person is considered 

 by them to have received a particular favour from heaven, and from 

 that moment takes rank among the saints ! 



In France the country people believe that these insects point out 

 the way to travellers. Mouffet, a naturalist of the seventeenth century, 

 says on this subject, in a description of the Mantis "This little 

 creature is considered of so divine a nature, that to a child who asks 

 it its way, it points it out by stretching out one of its legs, and rarely 

 or never makes a mistake." 



In the eyes of the Languedoc peasants the Mantis religiosa is 

 almost sacred. They call it Prega-Diou (Prie-Dieit), and believe 

 firmly that it performs its devotions its attitude, when it is on the 

 watch for its prey, resembling that of prayer. Settled on the ground, 

 it raises its head and thorax, clasps together the joints of its front 

 legs, and remains thus motionless for hours together. But only let an 

 imprudent fly come within reach of our devotee, and you will see it 

 stealthily approach it, like a cat who is watching a mouse, and with 

 so much precaution that you can scarcely see that it is moving. 

 Then, all of a sudden, as quick as lightning, it seizes its victim 

 between its legs, provided with sharp spines, which cross each other, 

 conveys it to its mouth, and devours it. Our make-believe Nun, 

 Preacher, our Prega-Diou, is nothing better than a patient watcher 

 and pitiless destroyer. The Mantis religiosa (Fig. 302), common 

 enough in the south of France, comes as far north as the environs of 

 Fontainebleau. The Mantis oratoria, rather smaller, is less commonly 

 met with. 



These elegant insects are remarkable for their long slim bodies, 

 their large wings, and their colours, which are generally very 

 bright. In some species their green or yellowish elytra look so 

 exactly like the leaves of trees that one can hardly help taking 

 them for such. 



The Mantis lays its eggs at the end of summer, in rounded, very 

 fragile shells, attached to the branches of trees ; they do not hatch 

 till the following summer. The larvae undergo several successive 

 moultings. Nothing equals the ferocity of these Orthoptera. If two 

 of them are shut up together, they engage in a desperate combat ; 

 they deal each other blows with their front legs, and do not leave off 

 fencing until the stronger of the two has succeeded in eating off the 

 other's head. From their very birth, the larvae attack each other. 

 The male being smaller than the female, is often its victim. 



Kirby tells us that in China the children procure them as in 



T 



