THE MANTIS, OR PRAYING INSECT. 711 



end of summer, in rounded, fragile shells, which it attaches to the 

 branches of trees, and which do not hatch till the following summer. 

 It differs in locomotion from its orthopterous relatives, which travel by 

 jumps, while the mantis crawls so slowly that its progress can only be 

 appreciated by careful and prolonged watching. This trait is con- 

 nected with another character by which the mantis differs from the 

 foregoing groups, for, while they are vegetarians, this insect is carniv- 

 orous, and its insidious movements are part of the policy by which it 



Mantis Religiosa (Male). 



captures the various creatures upon which it feeds. But the mantis is 

 not only a carnivore which lives by killing and devouring other insects, 

 it is also a creature of the most quarrelsome disposition ; in fact, it is a 

 ferocious cannibal. If two of these insects be shut up together, they en- 

 gage in a desperate combat ; they deal each other blows with their front 

 legs, and do not leave off fighting until the stronger has succeeded in 

 eating off the other's head. From their very birth the larvae attack 

 each other. In their contests, the male, being smaller than the female, 

 is often the victim. This pugnacity of the mantis is the source of 

 amusement to children in China. Two mantids are shut up together 

 in a bamboo cage, and the young heathen view with delight the inevi- 

 table battle, and the resulting cannibal feast. 



And yet, while its inoffensive orthopterous brethren have got but 

 little credit for their virtues, and are generally reviled as nuisances, 

 this atrocious little savage has had the fortune to acquire a peculiar 

 reputation for wisdom and saintliness. For thousands of years, and in 

 all parts of the world, it has borne this character. The cause has been 

 that it habitually assumes an attitude that appears devotional, and it was 

 supposed to spend a large portion of its life in prayer. Settled on the 

 ground, it raises its head and thorax, clasps together the joints of its 

 front legs (see cut), and raises them as if in supplication, and remains 

 in this posture for hours together. To our illogical and superstitious 



