ORDER III. STRAIGHT-WINGED INSECTS. 121 



racity of their "better halves," who cut off their heads and 

 then devour their whole body piecemeal. 



The Chinese, aware of their cruel and warlike propensi- 

 ties, keep these insects in bamboo cages, and exhibit them 

 as prize-fighters, as is done with fighting-cocks. At these 

 exhibitions, when two Soothsayers are placed face to face, 

 they become at first still and immovable ; but after they 

 have gazed fixedly at each other for a while, they raise 

 their wings, their whole body begins to tremble, they be- 

 come furious, and pounce one upon the other, giving blows 

 with their long fore legs, which they use as if they were 

 swords, and fighting as fiercely as the enraged Hungarian 

 hussars in the last war with Austria. At last one of them 

 yields, and the conqueror grasps the vanquished one and 

 devours him by pieces. 



The eggs of the Soothsayers, in the autumn, are deposit- 

 ed in an oval mass attached to the twigs of some creeping 

 vines near its base. This mass is inclosed in a silk-like 

 covering, resembling a seed-pod, which contains from fifty 

 to one hundred eggs, and which remains in this condition 

 during the winter, like the cocoons of butterflies and moths. 

 In the beginning of the following summer the larvse issue 

 from these eggs, and exactly resemble the perfect insect, ex- 

 cept in being destitute of wings. If these are kept in a 

 glass together, they will soon exhibit the warlike disposi- 

 tion of their parents, and devour one another, unless, they 

 are abundantly fed with plant-lice, of which they are very 

 fond. On this account, notwithstanding their fierce and 

 quarrelsome disposition, they become indisputably useful in 

 destroying noxious insects. 



The life of the Soothsayer continues scarcely two seasons. 

 It is hatched at the end of spring, becomes perfect in the 

 course of the summer, and dies generally toward the end of 

 October. 



F 



