The Rearhorses or Praying Mantids 



being known in England as "sooth-sayers," or "praying 

 insects," from the attitude which they assume when at rest or 

 when waiting to grasp another insect. The knees are bent, and 

 the front legs are held as though supporting a prayer-book. In 

 our Southern States they are known as "mule-killers," from the 

 curious superstition that the brownish liquor which they exude 

 from the mouth is fatal to mules. They are more commonly 

 known, however, in the south, as " rearhorses," from the rearing 

 attitude assumed when about to grasp another insect. The eggs 

 of the Mantidse are laid in a curiously-formed egg case which is 

 secreted by the female. They capture their prey by stealth, 

 crawling upon them so slowly that the motion is hardly observ- 

 able, but when within reaching distance the front legs are thrown 

 out with incredible rapidity. They are cannibalistic in a high 

 degree, and the female often, if not usually, devours the male 

 while in the act of conjugation. 



Like so many other predatory insects, they have the most 

 voracious appetites. Colic and bilious headaches seem unknown 

 to them. Slingerland has brought together some interesting 

 instances of this voracity in his account of the recent accidental 

 introduction and establishment of the European Mantis religiosa 

 in New York State. His correspondent, Mr. Atwood, writes : 

 " One Sunday a green mantis ate three grasshoppers, each seven- 

 eighths of an inch long, a daddy-long-legs, and then tackled 

 another mantis, and I was obliged to interfere between them." 

 It is probable that this common European insect was introduced 

 into northern New York in the egg stage on nursery stock. 

 Another foreign mantid has also recently become acclimatized in 

 this country. This is Tenodera sinensis Sauss., of Japan. This 

 large and striking form made its appearance about Philadelphia 

 in 1896, and in 1900 was quite numerous. 



Life History of a Rearhorse 



( Stagmomantis Carolina.) 



This species, which is common throughout the southern 

 United States, extends as far north as New Jersey. It is an 

 austral form, but does not reach the northern limits of the so- 

 called upper austral life zone. The eggs are laid in tough cases 



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