MANTIS. 



207 



ongintr to the family Cicindelidce, or tiger beetles, and 

 omposcd of a large species inhabiting South Africa 

 M. maxillosa, tubcrculaia, De Geer), having the tarsi 

 jylindrical, and alike in both sexes, the abdomen 

 'ery large and entirely embraced by the elytra, which 

 ire soldered together, the wings not being developed ; 

 he mentum is also furnished with a central tooth. 

 Phe insect is entirely of a black colour, and is found 

 n sandy situations. 



MANTIS (Linnaeus; or rather MANTID^E). A 

 amily of predaceous insects, belonging to the order 

 Jrthoptera, and section Cursoria, Latreille, distin- 

 ;uished by the five-jointed tarsi, the longitudinally 

 olded under-wings ; the extended prothorax, pro- 

 ninent head, and narrowed and elongated body; the 

 lalpi are short, and the fore legs raptorial. 



The singular attitude assumed by these insects 

 rhen about to seize their prey, which consists of 

 ither insects, has obtained for them the name of 

 lantis, that is, soothsayer. Taking their station in 

 , convenient situation, and remaining immoveably 

 :xed with the long prothorax elevated in the air, 

 heir fore legs being prepared to seize their prey, 

 tie mantidae pass many hours in this position, and the 

 uperstitious inhabitants of the countries where they 

 re found, have fancifully considered that they indi- 

 ated to the passers by the road which they ought to 

 jllow, and even that they were able in some myste- 

 ious manner to predict future events. The long 

 >re arms of the insect elevated in the form of arms, 

 t the same time with the head and thorax, have also 

 aused these insects to be compared to persons in the 

 ct of prayer, whence they have obtained the vulgar 

 ame of Pregadiou, or Prie Dieu, in the southern parts 

 f France and Italy, and the same idea has induced the 

 pplication of such specific names as Mantis rcligiosa, 

 recaria, sancta, oratoria, &c. The names of other 

 lecies, mendica, pauperata, sitpcrslitiosa, have ori- 

 inated in the curious begging attitude of the insects ; 

 hence in some countries they are regarded as some- 

 ling sacred, and which the inhabitants consider it a 

 uty not to harm *. 



These are .the only orthopterous insects which 

 ibsist upon other insects, and for this end their 

 ntire structure indicates strength and agility. The 

 igs are long and slender, and support a long and 

 ender body. The prothorax itself is disproportion- 

 t)ly long in many species, but this gives a very great 

 icrease of motion to the head : the head itself is ver- 

 cally attached by means of a short kind of slender 

 eck, which permits great freedom in its rotatory 

 lotion. But the most curious part of the structure 

 F this group of animals consists in the organisation 



the fore legs, which are much stronger than the 

 osterior legs, and are occasionally used in walking 

 r running, but ordinarily their usage is the prehen- 

 on of their food, and nothing can exhibit a more 

 eautiful adaptation of structure to functions than is 

 ) be observed in the fore leg or hand of the mantis, 

 'he coxse are very long, and, indeed, have by some 

 riters been regarded as the real femora, but such is 

 ot the case; the trochanter is the minute folio w- 



" So divine a creature is this esteemed," says old Mouffet, 



that if a childe aske the way to such a place, she will stretch 



t one of her feet and show him the right way, and seldom or 



er misse. As she resembleth those diviners in the eleva- 



f her hands, so also in likcnesse of motion: for they do 



; hemse'ves as othersdo, norleap nor play, but walking 



ray siie returns her modestly, and showes forth a kind of 



ature gravity." 



ing joint, and is succeeded by the femur, which has 

 been sometimes considered as the tibia, and which 

 is very robust, and armed on the inside with two rows 

 of strong spines, between which the tibia is received 

 when unemployed, this tibia is curved and also armed 

 with spines along its whole inner length, and is termi- 

 nated by a strong hook which folds upon the femur. At 

 the basal part of the hook the true tarsus is attached, 

 consisting of five slender joints, ^and which in no way 

 assist in securing the prey. When, therefore, a mantis 

 is about to seize a fly or any other insect, feeble it is 

 true, but very active, it elevates the fore part of the 

 body, resting upon its four hind legs, the middle pair 

 being advanced forwards, the anterior femur is brought 

 into contact with the coxa, and the tibia rests upon the 

 femur ; no sooner is the luckless insect sufficiently near, 

 than the fore leg is extended to its full length, and the 

 insect immediately seized by the tibia, which is imme- 

 diately folded upon the femur, the prey being com- 

 pletely secured by the numerous teeth which arm both 

 the femur and tibia, and is then leisurely devoured ; 

 should the fly escape, the mantis follows it in the most 

 cautious manner, moving almost imperceptibly along, 

 until it is again within reach, watching it with the 

 same eagerness as a cat does a mouse. 



Rosel has given an interesting account of the his- 

 tory of one of these insects in the fourth volume of 

 his Insecten Belustigung, from which it appears 

 that they are very voracious ; he kept some a long 

 time, feeding each with four or five flies per day, the 

 females requiring as many as six, being larger. When, 

 however, two were placed in a box together, their car- 

 nivorous instinct impelled them to violent combats, 

 cutting at each other with their fore legs,. and not 

 ceasing until one had decapitated the other. Even 

 when very young, they attack each other, and the 

 male occasionally falls a victim to his unwilling part- 

 ner ; even after coupling the former pays the forfeit 

 of his life, being killed and devoured by his bride : 

 and it is even stated in the seventy-fifth volume of 

 the Journal de Physique de Rozier, that an instance 

 had been observed, in which the female had first cut 

 off the head of her mate, coupling had afterwards 

 taken place, and the male was subsequently devoured 

 by the female. The Chinese, aware of this fight- 

 ing propensity, keep these insects in little bamboo 

 cages, and match them together in combat, as is done 

 in this country with fighting cocks. 



After impregnation, the female takes her station 

 on the twig of a plant, and remains there several 

 hours, without any other motion than a very slow 

 progression, during which the eggs are deposited, and 

 are covered with a soft and whitish substance, forming 

 a large mass, which may be easily mistaken for a 

 fruit, and of which the form varies in the different 

 species, the substance soon hardening, and gaining 

 a yellowish colour. The eggs are arranged in regular 

 series, out of one end of which the young make their 

 escape at the expiration of nine months after the 

 deposition of the eggs, which takes place in Septem- 

 ber, the young not being produced until the following 

 June. The young larvae have all the appearance of 

 their parents, but are destitute of wings and wing 

 covers. Rosel, indeed, having opened an egg pre- 

 vious to the bursting forth of the larvae, mistook for 

 a pupa the little creature therein contained, although 

 at the same time he was acquainted with the state 

 which was really analogous to the pupa, and in which 

 the wings and wing covers are very short and rudi- 



