278 Transactions. —Z, oology. 
During the summer of 1878-1879 I had several living specimens of this 
insect in its nympha state; some of them I sent to the Colonial Museum in 
spirits. I kept them alive for some time, although I did not succeed in 
finding out their natural food; one of them, however, shed its skin. I had 
long been on the look-out for a New Zealand species of Mantis, as we had 
known from Dieffenbach’s work on New Zealand (vol. ii., p. 280), that 
some eggs, or egg cases, of a species of Mantis had been taken to England 
by Dr. Sinclair nearly forty years ago, and I was consequently much grati- 
fied on receiving the perfect insect. 
Fam. Poasmipz. Genus Bacillus. 
: Bacillus sylvaticus, n. sp. ; 
General colour dirty yellowish-grey, abdomen darker ; pronotum, mesono- 
tum, and metanotum slightly spiny with a few small low spines; three 
longitudinal rows of large distant spines on pronotum, 8-4 in each row; 
prosternum, mesosternum, and metasternum very spiny with long sharp spines; 
all spines blackish pointed; a close row of fine sharp spines runs along side : 
ridges of mesothorax and metathorax ; abdomen below with two rows of spines | 
from anterior end to end of the sixth segment, which are tolerably large at ; 
the anterior end; above smooth or very slightly and sparingly muricated; | 
fourth, fifth, and sixth segments dilated on sides at posterior ends, the sixth 
the most so ; anal appendages produced, broad; anus very large ; anterior ee | 
of cove slightly tubercled, others smooth, or roughish, wrinkled ; antervr 
pair of femora angular, regularly crenulated on upper edge, and distantly 
muricated on both upper and lower edges; middle and posterior pair of femora 
with 2-3 small scattered spines ; posterior and middle tibia and tarsi slightly 
crested at bases, those of tibie twin and very small; all tarsi slightly pubes- 
cent ; vertex slightly tubercled, smooth between the eyes and under throat; 
antenne slightly pubescent, black-jointed, muticous, 1 inch long; length of 
body 54 inches. 
Hab.—On trees, forests, Hampden, Hawke’s Bay, 1879. 
This species has affinity with B. horridus, nevertheless it differs ¢0D- 
siderably, 
A peculiarity of one of my specimens is worth noticing, viz., that it bas 
evidently lost one of its middle legs ; and now a much smaller one, perfect, 
though not one-third of the size of the other, was being developed. 
Fam. Locusrmz. Genus Hemideina. 
