SOME REMARKABLE INSECTS. 



529 



Fig. 3. — Nemopiera coa. 



with strong spines or teeth, used for securely holding any insect 



that may fall into its clutches. I have seen this insect leisurely 



devouring flies held between these legs. From it there was no 



chance of escape. A 



specimen observed in 



captivity washed itself 



in the same manner as 



a cat, rubbing its head 



and face with its fore 



legs. In South Ameri- 

 ca a species of mantis is 



said to seize and devour 



small birds. 



Another strange or- 



thopter is known as the 



" walking stick," which 



so closely resembles the 



stems of plants upon 



which it lives that it 



is very difficult to find 



them. One species (Di- 



apheromera femorata) 



is abundant in the Middle States. This species is green when the 



foliage upon which it lives is of that color, but when this changes 



in the autumn the color of the walking stick changes also. It is 



said to do great injury to oak and other trees. 



In the East Indies is found an insect that greatly resembles a 



leaf, both in form and color, as will be seen by the figure on page 



528. It is very appropri- 

 ately called the "walking 

 leaf," and is known to scien- 

 tists as Phyllium siccifoli- 

 wm. There are about a doz- 

 en species of these insects 

 known, all of which are from 

 the Oriental regions. 



In southern Europe there 

 is found a peculiar insect 

 that belongs to the Neurop- 

 tera, the same order as do 

 the "dragon flies," "devil's 



needles," " snake doctors," etc. The scientific name of this insect 



is Nemoptera coa. It will be seen that the first pairs of wings are 



very broad, but this is not the peculiar part of it ; it is the hind 



pair that are remarkable, being extremely long and narrow and 



a little broader toward the end, which gives them the appearance 



VOL. XLIII. 38 



Fig. 4. — Diactor bilineatus. 



