1900.] INSECTS Of THE " SKEAT EXPEDITION." S3!) 



of no great height about 25 miles from the coast ; it is the Siamese 

 headquarters of the State. At Biserat we obtained a very large 

 number of specimens, including probably more individuals and 

 species than did the rest of our land collections ; but very few of 

 the species were highly specialized. Every sort of environment is 

 to be found near a place like Biserat : swamp, lawn, orchard, open 

 wood, cave, river, and even jungle on the hills, but not jungle of 

 the densest. The animals in such a locality have no need to adapt 

 themselves to any very limited environment, they can choose what 

 environment they will. In the deep jungle, on the other hand, 

 though few animals of any sort are seen on the ground, the fiercest 

 struggle for existence rages among the upper foliage and also in 

 the rotten wood underfoot — though there the termites, as a rule, 

 far outstrip all competitors ; while, even in the clearings, the space 

 and the food-supply is so limited that every animal must make the 

 best use of its natural advantages or else disappear. Though the 

 clearings are of recent formation, clue to man, who has become no 

 longer a savage, yet the struggle which goes on in them seems 

 already to have led in many cases to extreme modifications in habit 

 and structure. We can only suppose that this struggle commenced 

 long ago in places such as sand-spits running out into the rivers, 

 where vegetation was necessarily scanty, owing to poverty of soil 

 or constant change of conditions. 



II. "Flower-like Mantid^e. 

 Hymenopus bicornis (pupa). 



Colour. — Head : very pale grey, almost white. Eyes of same 

 shade, but with a slightly darker longitudinal stripe running down 

 the centre of each. Leaf-like process between the eyes white, 

 with median vein of pale green. Antennae black. 



Thorax : prothorax pale pink, with a tendency towards mauve ; 

 shading off posteriorly to white, and finally bounded by a bold 

 transverse bar of deep sage-green. The posterior region of the 

 thorax, which was usually concealed by the upturned abdomen, was 

 pearl-white, as were also the rudimentary wings. 



Abdomen : ventral surface pale pink. Dorsal surface pale pink, 

 with 5 longitudinal dotted stripes of deep yellow-brown. .Near 

 the junction with the thorax were several irregular transverse bars 

 of the same colour, but slightly darker. At the extreme tip of the 

 abdomen, surrounding the anus, was a very conspicuous dark patch, 

 almost black. 



Limbs: 1st pair pale translucent pink. 2nd and 3rd pairs pink 

 of a deeper shade, with a more marked tendency towards mauve. 

 The distal joints were horn-coloured and almost transparent. At 

 the inner edge of the broad petal-like expansions on the femur of 

 the 2nd and 3rd pairs, more conspicuous on the 3rd than on the 

 2nd, was a slightly livid, bruise-like mark, such as one sees on 

 flowers that have been battered by tropical rain. 



The whole surface of the trunk and that of the flattened 



