XOTES FROM THE CAIRD INSECT HOUSE. 289 



of which would have been kept as adults after they had laid 

 100 eggs ; for 100 eggs only one female is required, as there are 

 no males. 



They require fresh food, more attention, more space ; they are 

 much larger, and are greedily eaten by many of the animals and 

 birds. On the whole, it looks as if at our Gardens, with lots of 

 privet, it might be profitable to breed Carausias. 



Leap Insects. 



Mr. E. G. B. Meade-Waldo has given us stocks of Pulchri- 

 phylUum crurifolium, and they appeal very much to the public. 

 We have not been very successful with them, and large numbers 

 of our brood vanished. We lost many young probably from a 

 spicier, Psalmopmus cambridgii, which " disappeared," hiding itself 

 behind the cork fittings in the case and apparently coming out at 

 night to feed on the young ones ; the spider was found well and 

 flourishing when the cork was taken down. Cockroaches (Peri- 

 plcmeta americana) also eat the living insects. 



We obtained seed of guava from Bombay and plants w r ere 

 grown, but the insects do better on the oak their parents in 

 England have fed on. 



Many full-grown females have died as a result of injuries 

 sustained by being nibbled by their fellows ; not a single specimen 

 has completely escaped this unfortunate mishap. 



We are in possession of a number of ova, from which we 

 expect a good stock for the coming season. 



MANTID.E. 



Sphodromantis guttata. 



Of wide African distribution, and also found in Persia. 



An egg-mass from East Africa, hatched on July 6th, 1914; the 

 young were fed on Aphides, small caterpillars, the larvae of Cis, 

 and other small insects. One was loose in the bay containing 

 caterpillars of Attacus cynthia, and throve amazingly. It was 

 eventually placed in solitary confinement. Two have survived 

 up to the present, and one completed its development on 

 March 20th ; for the last three months they have been fed on 

 stick insects and moths. It is an unusual thing to - bring a 

 Mantis through all its moults in captivity ; the second appears 

 likely to complete its development very soon. 



These insects are bark-coloured, and rest motionless by day, 

 feeding at night ; probably in the wild state they do the same, 

 differing from the commoner green variety, which sit among 

 green foliage awaiting their prey during the daytime. These 

 insects were green until half-grown, so doubtless in a wild state 

 some change of appearance becomes necessary through a change 

 of season and the colour of the foliage. Unfortunately, both our 

 specimens are females. Before the penultimate moult one had 



