TEANSACTIONS OF SECTION D. 793 



retractile head, and for the processes that project in a series along the sides of the 

 abdomen. Nothing is known as to the metamorphosis of these larvae, and some 

 examples of the type reach a size considerably greater than that of any Lycid 

 beetle as yet discovered. The two species shown in the photographs are found 

 together, beneath the bark of dead trees and under fallen timber in the jungle. 

 The broader and more highly specialised of the two bears no resemblance, as far 

 as I have been able to discover, to any other animal ; but the narrower species, 

 which in its younger stages differs very little from the ordinary type of Lycid 

 larva, is not unlike a Millipede {Ortliomor'pha sp.) found together with it. 



The fifth and three following photographs showed a pupa of the mantis Hijmeno- 

 pits bicornis seated on an inflorescence of Melastoma polycmtJmm. In its active 

 pupal stage this insect bears so close a likeness to the flowers of the ' Rhododen- 

 dron ' that I have found it impossible to assign the exact limits of true vegetable 

 tissue and animal counterfeit, even when holding in my hand an inflorescence in 

 which one of these mantises was seated. The resemblance is brought about by the 

 development of broad, petal-like expansions of the femora of the second and third 

 pairs of legs, by the pink coloration of the insect, and by the extraordinary 

 hower-like sheen of its integument. A broad bar of vivid green runs across the 

 thorax of the pupa, dividing the animal visually into two perfectly distinct parts : 

 a black spot is most conspicuous on the tip of its abdomen ; and five brown lines 

 mark the dorsal surface of the abdomen longitudinally. The mantis refuses to 

 settle on any other part of the plant than the inflorescence. It sits among the 

 flowers with its abdomen flexed backwards, so as to lie almost parallel to the 

 thorax ; and it sways its whole body from side to side. The movement attracts 

 certain minute flies, which settle indiscriminately on the body of the insect (being 

 then indistinguishable at the short distance from the black tip of the abdomen) 

 and on the petals it simulates. The mantis takes no notice of these small flies, 

 but seizes and devours larger Diptera, and probably other insects, that come within 

 its reach. When the flowers among which it is seated commence to fade, the 

 mantis droops its abdomen, thus bringing the brown lines upon the dorsal surface 

 into view, and finally leaps to the ground. When separated from the inflorescence 

 of Melastoma polijanthimi, it xe&Qmhles im orchid that has fallen from its stem. 

 Hymenopiis bicornis has a fairly wide distribution (from Sikkim to Sarawak), but 

 it is rare in every locality where it occurs. A white variety of the pupa is also 

 known. 



The ninth photograph showed some Siamese of the State of Patalung clapping 

 their hands to attract the edible cicada {Dundubia iiiteonerata). In April the 

 females of this insect are thus captured in considerable numbers for food, during 

 the_ short interval between sunset and darkness. The cicada-catchers must clap 

 their hands in unison and observe a definite rhythm. A fire is a usual, but not a 

 necessary, adjunct to the performance. 



The enormous elongation of the anterior region of the head of many Fulgorinse 

 (lantern flies) into a hollow nose-like organ has often puzzled entomologists, 

 who have generally abandoned the old theory that this structure was lumi- 

 nescent. I was so fortunate as to observe its use as an organ of progression, or 

 rather of sudden flight from danger. When the insect is disturbed, it presses the 

 tip of its ' nose ' against the tree-stem on which it is seated, at the same instant 

 pushes its body violently away with its powerful legs, and so is projected for a 

 considerable distance through the air, the ' nose ' being flexible at one point, and 

 also so elastic that it acts as a piece of whalebone would do under like circum- 

 Btances. 



2. Observations on Mimicry in South African Insects. 

 By Guy A. K. Marshall. 



[Arranged and communicated by Edward B. Poulton, M.A., F.E.S., Fellow of 

 Jesus College, Oxford, and Hope Professor of Zoology in the University.] 



The following paper is an abstract of the results obtained by Mr. Guy A. K. 

 Jlarshall in South Africa, When no locality i§ mentioned it is to be understood 



