132 The Praying-Mantis. 



ing what they may devour/ 7 and the very position 

 which has given them a reputation for sanctity is 

 only assumed to enable them the more readily to 

 seize any unfortunate insect that may come within 

 their reach ; and they are by no means particular 

 what that insect may be, as they will with the 

 greatest readiness seize and devour one of their 

 own species, particularly if smaller and weaker 

 than themselves. It is, therefore, not surprising 

 that they are most pugnacious, and indulge in the 

 fiercest encounters on the least possible provoca- 

 tion or, indeed, without any apparent provocation 

 at all when " their manoeuvres very much resemble 

 those of hussars fighting with sabres, and some- 

 times one cleaves the other through at a single 

 stroke, or severs the head from the body. During 

 these engagements the wings are generally ex- 

 panded, and when the battle is over the conqueror 

 devours his antagonist." The performance is 

 curious and amusing, the peculiar shape and 

 carriage of the insects giving them the appearance 

 of dancing with one another. In China and the 

 East we are told that they are fought, like game- 

 cocks, for wagers. The following extract from the 

 work of an American authority says much for their 

 power of endurance : ' f We have seen a female 

 decapitated, and with her body partly eaten, slip 

 away from another that was devouring her, and 

 for over an hour afterwards fight as tenaciously 

 and with as much nonchalance as though nothing 

 had happened ." 



