852 ME. NELSON ANNANDALE ON THE [Dec. 4, 



by Sharp. This latter insect makes no attempt to conceal itself, 

 but sits among leaves, showing, by reason of its broadened thorax 

 and coxa3 of the first pair of limbs, a likeness to some gorgeous 

 flower. 



In connection with these flower-like Mantids it may not be super- 

 fluous to mention the leaf-like form, Deroplatys trigonodera, which 

 is sometimes found in the deep jungle near Aring. Though the 

 whole visible surface of this species, including that of the tegmina 

 and of the legs, is coloured like a dead leaf \ aud though the tegmina, 

 the thorax, and the two posterior limbs bear irregular leaf-like 

 processes, yet the posterior wings, where they are concealed by the 

 tegmina, are coloured deep maroon, veined and rimmed with white. 

 A specimen wbicb crawled up my leg from the jungle floor made no 

 attempt to fly when captured, but defended itself with its armed 

 predatory limbs, drawing blood from my finger. Very possibly this 

 species also may be nocturnal, or at least crepuscular, and only use its 

 wings in the evening. This is certainly the case with the various 

 species of large green Mantidas that are common through the whole 

 of lower Siam. At Biserat, in tbe State of Jalor, specimens of 

 Hierodula modesta flew into our verandah iu the evening on several 

 occasions, and settling on the whitewashed wall, would feed on the 

 termites and small Orthoptera attracted by tbe lamp, they them- 

 selves showing no inclination towards its flame. The insects 

 which they caught did not avoid them in any way, but walked 

 straight into their clutches. The larvae of Hierodida and allied 

 genera are often to be seen sitting on tree-trunks in the middle of 

 the day ; but I never observed an adult on the wiDg before 

 sunset. 



Ceratomantis saussurei is another interesting Mantis which may 

 be taken at Aring. The bead, body, and limbs of this species are 

 of a dingy yellowish grey, speckled with black. The wings, which 

 are unusually broad, are transparent, but the tegmina are marked 

 with curious black streaks. The head is prolonged forwards 

 between the eyes into a peculiar spike. The predatory limbs are 

 broad and flattened dorso-ventrally ; and the sides of the abdomen 

 are produced into several irregularly shaped lobes. On tbe inner 

 surface of the fore leg, which is concealed by that of the opposite 

 limb except when the insect is struggling with its prey, there is a 

 black bar running along the femur. 



One morning in September, I found a specimen of this Mantis 

 at Aring in the interior of a fallen tree which I was chopping up 

 in the jungle. The wood was rotten and afforded a harbour to 

 many other insects, such as beetles and cockroaches. A few days 

 earlier another specimen was brought me by a Malay, together 

 with a dead Selaginellid among which he had found it. If this 

 Mantis is seated among the dead wood, its colour makes it incon- 

 spicuous ; but if it is among dead fern-fronds or withered Sela- 

 ginellids, its predatory limbs entirely disappear, owing to their 



1 Numerous other species of the same genus are coloured in a similar 

 fashion. 



