CiiAP. VI.J BEETLES. 2.51 



varieties of line, from the pale yellow of an opening bud 

 to the rich green of the full-blown leaf, and the withered 

 tint of decaying foliage. And so perfect is the imitation 

 in structure and articulation, that these amazing insects 

 when at rest are ahnost indistinguishable from the ver- 

 dirre around them : not the wings alone being modelled 

 to resemble ribbed and fibrous follicles, but every joint of 

 the legs being expanded into a broad plait hke a half- 

 opened leaflet. 



It rests on its abdomen, the legs serving to drag it 

 slowly along, and thus the flatness of its attitude serves 

 still further to add to the appearance of a leaf. One of 

 the most marvellous incidents connected with its organi- 

 sation was exhibited by one which I kept under a glass 

 shade on my table ; it laid a quantity of eggs, that, in 

 colom* and shape, were not to be discerned from seeds. 

 They were brown and pentangular, with a short stem, 

 and shghtly punctured at the intersections. 



EGGS OF THE LEAF INSECT. 



The " soothsayer," on the other hand [Mantis supersti- 

 tiosa^ Fab.^), httle justifies by its propensities the appear- 

 ance of gentleness, and the attitudes of sanctity, which 

 have obtained for it its title of the praying mantis. Its 

 habits are carnivorous, and degenerate into cannibahsm, 

 as it preys on the weaker individuals of its own species. 

 Two which I enclosed in a box were both found 

 dead a few hours after, hteraUy severed hmb from 

 Hmb in their encounter. The formation of the forelejr 



CD 



enables the tibia to be so closed on the sharp edge 

 of the thigh as to amputate any slender substance 

 grasped within it. 



^ M. aridifolia and M. extcnsicollis, \ and dilatations on the posterior 

 as well as Empiisa f/onr/i/Ioidcs, re- tbig'lis, are common in tlie island, 

 markable for the long leaf-like head, j 



