86 



Genus XXXII. MANTIS. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Antenna setaceous. Head unsteady, armed 

 with strong jaws, and furnished with Palpi. 

 Thorax linear. Wings four, membranous, 

 and wrapped round the body ; the under 

 ones folded. Forefeet compressed, serrated 

 beneath, and terminated by a single nail or 

 claw, and a setaceous, jointed foot. Hind 

 legs smooth, and formed for walking. 



General Observations. 



This is a remarkable genus of insects, con- 

 taining some species of the most singular figure 

 imaginable. In one we meet with the exact 

 resemblance of a dried leaf. In another, the 

 limbs are, as it were, scattered about, and re- 

 semble the conjunction of so many withered 

 stalks ; while a third looks like a long dried 

 stick, with six lateral branches. These are all 

 remarkable only for their appearance, but there 

 is one, the Mantis religiosa, whose peculiarity 

 of manner has attracted universal notice. This 



