OF THE UNITED STATES 53 



East Indian fame, describes a species he saw in Java, that closely 

 resembled a pink orchid flower, and "is said to feed largely on 

 butterflies — so that it is really a living trap, and forms its own 

 bait!" 



Our young "preying beetles," when (hey are hatched, are like 

 the parents except that they are wingless. These insects all be- 

 long to tlie Mantidce of the order Orthoptera. They do not all 

 deposit their eggs in a manner similar to the specimen shown in 

 the above drawing. I have a good figure of an African Mantis 

 at my hand thai makes a very curious egg-mass (Monteiro's An- 

 gola), and there is an Australian form that has a very peculiar ar- 

 rangement for depositing its eggs, which has been described by 

 Mr. Webster. 



Although these insects are so well known, it should not deter 

 us from making still further investigation into their biology 

 whenever good opportunity presents itself, and thus obtain a 

 better knowledge of their habits. 



