24 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 



ges of development, and some of 

 the ova. 



A number of these tiny, long 

 legged insects and the ova in va- 

 rious developmental stages, were 

 mounted on a glass slide and pho- 

 toreprodueed. The engraving of 

 same herein shows the small in- 

 sects plainly, enlarged about one- 

 third time original size. 



During outings, later on, several 

 of such peculiar breeding nests of 

 the devilshorse were encountered 

 along the river banks and hilly 

 regions south of San Antonio, on 



Fig. 1. Nest cut in two, showing cell apartments. 

 Fig. 2. Nest intict. 



various trees and shrubbery, with 

 preference on the mesquite tree 

 and a small leafed acacia brush, 

 loaded vnth scarlet red and glob- 

 ular blossoms. A small branch of 

 this latter brush containing one 

 such mantis nest was removed, 

 and the photo of same herein 

 shows the peculiar "caterpillar- 

 like" shape of this_jiest, showing 

 the inside appearance and some of 



the many ceill apartments in 

 which the old insect had deposited 

 its eggs. These nests are about 

 one to "two inches in length and 

 worm-like shape; and its oval 

 shaped body is ribbed and of ex- 

 ceedingly compact structure — the 

 old insect using some kind of a 

 gum, perhaps mesquite gum, or 

 perhaps it manufactures a gum of 

 its own, to build its nest, and 

 glues it on the branches or the 

 trunk of a tree. The tubular cell 

 apartments of which this breed- 

 ing nest is composed and which, 

 when finished, is as hard as rock, 

 reminds one of the cell arrange- 

 ments of the wasp nest and some 

 other insects; and the ova develop 

 on about the same principle as the 

 wasps and bees, etc. 



The full grown devilshorse, of 

 which an original picture from 

 nature is appended herein, is 

 nearly too well known generally 

 to go into details herein about 

 it. There exist various types of 

 these mantis insects, and some of 

 them attain enormous proportions 

 and they all are of a repugnent 

 and fearful looking nature — how- 

 ever, they are entirely harmless. 



They are remarkable for their 

 slender grotesque form. One spe- 

 cies has a pair of legs in front re- 

 sembling a person's hands when 

 folded in prayer and is often 

 called the praying mantis. 



In writing one evening years 

 ago, attracted by the bright elec- 

 tric light, one of these long leg- 

 ged insects suddenly appeared 

 near my writing paper, and a 

 queer aspect it was to see the 

 insect standing erect on its hind 

 legs, and twisting its large bulg- 

 ing and glossy eye globes from 

 one side to the other — watching 

 the movements of my hand in 

 writing. Some timid persons nat- 

 urally get very excited, in encoun- 

 tering a devilshorse insect, but 

 these insects ^lossess no weapons 

 of inoculation, and they only scare 

 a, person by reason of their pe- 



