THE PRAYING MANTIS 35 



ishly, stripping themselves of their torn garments. Then 

 they drop off, or clamber into the nearest foliage. A few 

 days later a fresh swarm appears, and so on till all the eggs 

 are hatched. 



But alas ! the poor grubs are hatched into a world of 

 dangers. I have seen them hatching many times, both out 

 of doors in my enclosure, and in the seclusion of a green- 

 house, where I hoped I should be better able to protect them. 

 Twenty times at least I have watched the scene, and every 

 time the slaughter of the grubs has been terrible. The Mantis 

 lays many eggs, but she will never lay enough to cope with 

 the hungry murderers who lie in wait until the grubs appear. 



The Ants, above all, are their enemies. Every day I 

 find them visiting my nests. It is in vain for me to interfere ; 

 they always get the better of me. They seldom succeed in 

 entering the nest ; its hard walls form too strong a fortress. 

 But they wait outside for their prey. 



The moment that the young grubs appear they are grabbed 

 by the Ants, pulled out of their sheaths, and cut in pieces. You 

 see piteous struggles between the little creatures who can 

 only protest with wild wrigglings and the ferocious brigands 

 who are carrying them off. In a moment the massacre is 

 over ; all that is left of the flourishing family is a few scattered 

 survivors who have escaped by accident. 



It is curious that the Mantis, the scourge of the insect 

 race, should be herself so often devoured at this early stage 

 of her life, by one of the least of that race, the Ant. The 

 ogress sees her family eaten by the dwarf. But this does 

 not continue long. So soon as she has become firm and 

 strong from contact with the air the Mantis can hold her own. 

 She trots about briskly among the Ants, who fall back as 

 she passes, no longer daring to tackle her : with her fore- 

 legs brought close to her chest, like arms ready for self-defence, 

 she already strikes awe into them by her proud bearing. 



But the Mantis has another enemy who is less easily dis- 

 mayed. The little Grey Lizard, the lover of sunny walls, 



