274 
LETTERS FROM ALABAMA. 
the whole insect is more slender. They are preda-' 
tory and fierce, and are furnished in an extraordi- 
nary manner with weapons for the warfare they 
wage upon other insects. The fore-legs are of 
great length and stoutness. The tibia is set with 
sharp spines or teeth, and one long curved one at 
the extremity. The femur is armed with similar 
spines along its edge. The insect stations itself 
on a leaf or twig, with its fore parts elevated, and 
its armed limbs stretched widely apart. On the 
passing of any fly, the warrior makes a cut at it, 
as if with a drawn sword, and with so true an aim 
as frequently to seize the prey, the tibia folding 
back upon the femur, and the spines interlocking. 
With these the Mantis can grasp very hard, so as 
to drive the spines through the skin of the human 
liand, while the dying insects on which it preys 
are pierced and cut through by the merciless blow, 
and are immediately handed to the mouth, to be 
munched into mince-meat by the horny jaws. The 
tarsi, in the act of making the stroke, are doubled 
back out of the way. The voracity of these crea- 
tures was shown by one wdiich I kept confined for 
a few days in a box. During that time he ate off 
a great part of one of his own fore-legs, leaving 
only the haunch and a small piece of the thigh. 
The Spectres, Walking Rods, or Devil’s Walk- 
ing-sticks, as they are variously called [Phasma)^ 
are curious for their almost linear slenderness and 
great length. One species, which was given me 
the other day, is about five inches long, exclusive 
of the antennse and limbs, and as thick as a goose- 
quill. It was when alive of a lavender-grey hue, 
marbled all over with a faint netted pattern. The 
legs are long, and set far apart, so that it crawls 
