THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 107 
upon that perishable rose or those green leaves, where she has 
made her abode all the Summer. She is far too wise for that, 
as the eggs will not be hatched until the following Summer, 
and the Winter frosts would perish all flowers and leaves. She 
accordingly flies to a bush which has plenty of old brown 
stems upon it, which she selects, knowing that it will just 
match her egg-case. The egg-case or capsule is composed of a 
brown, sticky secretion which soon hardens on exposure to the 
air. It is constructed of numerous cells in which the eggs are 
deposited, and looks just like a knot uponthe stem. Thus pro- 
tected all through the Winter the eggs remain until the warm 
November sun calls the little Mantids forth to life and energy. 
Pretty, lively little fellows they are, too—green with a dark 
stripe running down the middle. Though little, they are 
ravenous, but there is plenty of food in the shape of minute 
insects which are altogether too small to appeal to the taste of 
their parents. 
I don’t think the Mantis is particular as to what kind of food 
it gets. One day I found one eating a large ant, of which, judging 
by the odour, the flavour must be pretty strong. The Mantis 
is among our allies. I counted the cells in an empty ege-case 
and there were twenty-one, but that does not mean that there 
had only been twenty-one eggs: there may be more than one 
egg in each cell. 
I have noticed in this district a species larger than Orthodera 
ministralis, and with longer and more densely spined fore-legs. 
I have never seen this, however, except in gardens and orchards. 
I notice in Mr. Froggatt’s ‘‘ Australian Insects,” that Westwood 
describes, in 1889, 624 species of Mantis, of which only 30 are 
from Australia, and Kirby, in 1904, brings the list to 843, and 
adds five more to our list. 
REVIEW. 
“A GuIDE To THE Srupy oF AUSTRALIAN Burrerriins.’—By 
W. J. Rainbow, F.L.S. ; Melbourne, T. C. Lothian, 1907. 
Te issue of this work is opportune and will meet the require- 
ments of the numerous students of entomology in Australia 
who are now turning their attention to the charming group of 
which it treats. The book is meant especially for beginners, 
for whom it is admirably suited, but it will also be acceptable 
to more advanced entomologists. 
In the two opening chapters we have a general introduction 
to the life-history of butterflies in general, and of the methods of 
capture and preservation, written in'a clear and interesting 
manner. ‘The remainder of the book is devoted to details of the — 
life-history of numerous representative species. Here there is 
presented a mass of original work, based on careful observation 
