i6o Marvels of the Universe 



5^^ 



rhoto hii] [Paul II. Fairs. 



THE VICTORIOUS MANTIS. 



Once witKin the cIutcKes of the powerful limbs the victim is immediately sacrificed to the rapacity of its cruel victor, for 

 even if sport has been good and hunger appeased the Mantis will not leave its captive alive. Here the Mantis is devour- 

 ing a grasshopper. 



Still Other forms have evolved in entirely other directions, having become mimics of the excreta of 

 birds for the purpose of attracting flies. 



A naturalist (Annandale) has recorded a remarkable instance of a pink Mantis found in Siam, 

 and which was observed in the midst of some rhododendron-like blossoms. This insect being too 

 large to successfully simulate part of a single flower, is provided with a green band, which divides 

 its pink colouring into two sections, thereby assisting it to resemble two blooms. Its legs and 

 the front part of the body are pink, and also the under-side of the end of its abdomen, which it 

 turns up over its back. At the tip of the abdomen there is a black patch on which minute flies are 

 fond of alighting. Thus we have the illusion of a flower with tiny flies feasting upon it. 



The tiny flies are too insignificant for the Mantis to prey upon, and are only part of its device 

 for attracting its larger prey. It was further noted that when the abdomen was turned down and 

 the upper surface exposed, brown lines were revealed, which suggested the appearance of the 

 rhododendron-like blossoms when they are withering, 



GLASS SPONGES 



BY RICHARD KERR, F,G,S,, F,R..\.S. 



The Glass Sponges, more especially those known as the " Venus' Flower Baskets," are, without 

 exception, among the most exquisite of all forms of marine life known to us. They have their 

 abode on all ocean floors, generally at great depths. In size they range from a few inches in height 

 to nearly two feet. They are attached to the bed of the sea or ocean by long wisps of flint, like spun 

 glass. These flinty prolongations are part of the creatures' own structures. 



The skeleton, the part with which we are most familiar in our museums, is a lacy fabric of flint 

 in which the delicately-arranged lattice-work is in perfect order, based on a regular system which 

 conduces in the best possible manner towards producing great beauty combined with wonderful 

 strength. 



