278 Captain Williams, Exhibition of Living Gongylus. 



Exhibition of Living Gongylus gongyloides, a floral Mantis. 

 By Captain 0. E. Williams, Indian Medical Service. (Com- 

 municated by Mr D. Sharp.) 



[Read 9 November 1903.] 



The insects exhibited show the pupal or nymph stage in the 

 development of this Mantis. They were hatched from the egg 

 about January 18th of this year, and in the ordinary course 

 should have attained the imago or winged state at the end of 

 October. Development appears to have been arrested by the 

 unsuitable climate of England, and by loss of appetite under 

 confinement. 



The floral mimicry is effected by the foliaceous expansion of 

 the prothorax around the insertion of the front pair of legs. This 

 expansion is roughly diamond or oval-shaped and on the under 

 side is of a bright azure blue tipped with rose purple at the angles 

 and margins ; in the centre of this disc is a deeply pigmented 

 black spot of triangular shape. The front pair of legs are held 

 closely folded together in the front of the coloured disc. The 

 azure coloured disc resembles a small flower and the black spot 

 mimics the tube of a corolla. The attitude adopted by the insect 

 when at rest and intent on catching its prey is an inverted 

 position below a leaf or spray of leaves, the coloured side of the 

 prothoracic disc being turned to the brightest light available. 

 Insects, especially butterflies, are readily attracted by the floral 

 simulation. The hinder part of the prothorax is drawn out into 

 a long stalk and coloured a light green, enhancing the floral 

 resemblance. The rest of the body is shaped and coloured to 

 resemble a bunch of dead leaves and is practically undiscernible 

 amid its natural surroundings. The insects exhibited were brought 

 from Rangoon. 



