572 
ZOOLOGICAL LITERATURE. 
Blabera cubensis ; JSl. brastliana and minor from Brazil j Bl. deplanatttj 
West Indies j Bl. claraziana^ Uruguay. 
Monachoda. Thunberg’s M. grossa, bigidtata^ and rejlexa are characterized, 
each being regarded as tlie type of a subgenus, viz. MonachodUj Monastria^ 
and Petasodes. 
Mantid^e. 
Burmeister (Berl. ent. Zeits. 1804, p. 234) records the surprising fact that 
the female of a species of Mantis {M, argentina, sp. n., p. 238) inhabiting tlie 
neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres is capable of seizing and destroying small 
birds. The attention of his informant was attracted by the cry of a bird, and, 
on going to the spot from which the sound proceeded, saw a specimen of 
Serpophaga subcristata (Vieill.) fluttering its wings upon the branch of a tree 
to which it was apparently secured. On procuring a ladder and ascending to 
the branch he found the bird, then dead, firmly held in the fore legs of a 
large Mantis^ in such a position that its head was brought to the mouth of the 
insect, which had already torn away the skin and feathers of the crown, and 
commenced gnawing the skull. The living Mantis and the dead bird were 
brought to Burmeister, who declares himself satisfied of the veracity of his 
informant, and regards the circumstance not only as a proof of the truth of 
Zimmermann’s assertion that the Mantides will kill and devour small Verte- 
brate animals, but also as evidence that this practice must be habitual with 
them. The Mantis is described by Burmeister as only three inches long. He 
records the occurrence at Buenos Ayres of three other species, namely, M. 
prcecarittf M, dimidiata, and M. unipunctata of his ^ Handbuch.’ 
Phasmid^. 
Westwood, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fi\ 4® s^rie, tome iv. pi. 6, figures the female of 
Mmiandroptera inuncans (Serv.), fig. 2, and that of M. undulata (Westw.), 
fig. 3. Westwood maintains, /. c. pp. 201-204, that these two species are 
distinct, in opposition to the statements of Coquerel. Westwood also states 
that Monandrcyptera spinigera (Lucas) is identical with Bhaphiderus scabrosus 
(Guer.), I c. p. 204 j and is of opinion that Cyphocrana ? punctipes (Serv.) is 
the female of Achrioptera fallax (Coq.), 1. c. p. 205. 
JDiapheromera velii, sp. n., Walsh, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil. vol. iii. p. 409, from 
Illinois. 
Hetei'opteryx hopei, sp. n., Westw. Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1864, p. 16, origin 
unknown. 
PhyUium feejeeanum, sp. n., Westw. 1. c. p. 17, from the Fiji islands. 
GRYLLIDiE. 
New species and genera : — 
Angus records the occurrence of house crickets, apparently different from 
the European Gryllus domesticuSy at West Farms, New York. Proc. Ent. 
Soc. Phil. vol. iii. p. 44. 
PhyllopalpuSy g. n., Uhler, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil. vol. ii. p. 543. Ocelli 0 ; 
antennae twice as long as body, very slender, inserted level with lower mar- 
gin of eyes, basal joint cylindrical j max. palpi large, joints hairy, apical 
joint much the longest, very broad, oval, lamelliform ; scutellum incon- 
spicuous j tegmina at least as long as body j iuiterior tibia) with a tympanum; 
