n8 OUR INSECT FRIENDS AND FOES 



the fore-legs, which are developed into powerful 

 organs for seizing their prey. The African 

 Mantis simulate different kinds of leaves to per- 

 fection, their general colour scheme being green 

 in varying tones ; while in the deserts of Arabia 

 and North Africa they are exactly the same 

 colour as the sand upon which they crawl. 



The strange way the Mantidae have of raising 

 their fore-legs as they rest or move slowly about 

 has given rise to many quaint ideas about these 

 creatures. In ancient times the natives of Arabia 

 believed that the insects pointed out the right 

 way to travellers who had lost themselves in the 

 desert, and from this old superstition they have 

 gained their name of " Mantidae " from Mantes 

 or Soothsayer. In some parts of Europe these 

 quaint insects are called " praying Mantis " 

 (Mantis religiosd), and there is an old legend 

 that St. Francis Xavier, once seeing a Mantis 

 moving along with its legs raised as if in prayer, 

 commanded it to sing the praises of God, and 

 the creature immediately raised its voice in a 

 beautiful canticle ! 



Unfortunately for the truth of these pic- 

 turesque ideas, the devotional attitude of the 

 Mantis is assumed so that it may be in readiness 

 to seize its prey as soon as it comes within 

 striking distance ; and far from being the bene- 

 volent and devotional insect these old myths 

 imply, the Mantis is in reality a most voracious 

 and cunning creature. 



So that they may the more readily capture 

 their prey many species of Mantidae assume the 

 form and colouring of flowers. One found in 



