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half-opened fore-limbs held outwards in the characteristic devotional attitude, it rests motionless upon the four posterior limbs waiting for See also:

PREY (0. Fr. preie, mod. proie, Lat. praeda, booty, from prae and the root hed—seen in prehendere, prendere, to grasp)

prey, or' occasionally stalks it with slow and silent movements, finally seizing it with its See also:

KNIFE (0. E. cuff, a word appearing in different forms in many Teutonic languages, cf. Du. knijf, Ger. Kneif, a shoe-maker's knife, Swed. knif; the ultimate origin is unknown; Skeat finds the origin in the root of " nip," formerly " knip "; Fr. canif is a

knife-See also:

BLADES, WILLIAM (1824-1890)

blades and devouring it. Although apparently not daring to attack ants, these See also:

INSECTS

insects destroy great See also:

numbers of flies, grasshoppers and caterpillars, and the larger See also:

South-See also:

AMERICAN

American species even attack small, frogs, lizards and birds. They are very pugnacious, See also:

FENCING

fencing with See also:

MANTLE

MANTLE their See also:

SWORD (0. Eng. sweord; ultimately from an Indo-European root meaning to wound)

sword-like limbs " like hussars with sabres," the larger frequently devouring the smaller, and the See also:

FEMALES

females the See also:

MALES

males. The See also:

CHINESE, JAPANESE AND

Chinese keep them in See also:

BAMBOO

bamboo cages, and match them like fighting-cocks: The common species fixes its somewhat See also:

nut-like See also:

egg capsules on the stems of See also:

PLANTS

plants in See also:

SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September. The See also:

young are hatched in See also:

early summer, and resemble the adults, but are without wings. The See also:

green coloration and shape of the typical mantis are procryptic,- serving to conceal the insect alike from its enemies Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa). and prey.

The passage from See also:

LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

leaf to See also:

flower simulation is but a. step which, without interfering with the protective value of the coloration so far as insectivorous foes are concerned, carries with it the additional See also:

ADVANTAGE

advantage of attracting flower-feeding insects within reach of the raptorial limbs. This method of allurement has been perfected in certain tropical species of Mantidae by the development on the prothorax and raptorial limbs of laminate expansions so coloured on the under See also:

side as to resemble papilionaceous or other blossoms, to which the likeness is enhanced by a See also:

GENTLE (through the Fr. gentil, from Lat. gentilis, belonging to the same gens, or family)

gentle swaying kept up by the insect in See also:

IMITATION (Lat. imitatio, from intitari, to imitate)

imitation of the effect of a lightly blowing See also:

BREEZE

breeze. As instances of this may be cited See also:

IDAHO

Idaho-it diabolicum, an See also:

AFRICAN

African insect, and Gongylus gongyloides, which comes from See also:

India. Examples of another species (Empusa eugena) when See also:

STANDING

standing upon the ground deceptively imitate in shape and See also:

hue a greenish See also:

white See also:

ANEMONE

anemone tinted at the edges with See also:

rose; and See also:

Bates records what appears to be a true See also:

case of aggressive See also:

MIMICRY

mimicry practised by a Brazilian species which exactly resembles the white ants it preys upon. MANTIS-See also:

FLY (formed on the root of the supposed original Tent. fleugan, to fly)

FLY, the name given to neuropterous insects of the See also:

FAMILY

family Mantispidae, related to the See also:

ant-lions, See also:

LACE (corresponding to Ital. merletto, trina; Genoese Pizzo; Ger. spitzen; Fr. dentelle; Dutch kanten; Span. encaje; the English word owes something to the Fr. lassis or laces, but both are connected with the earlier Lat. laqueus; early French laces were

lace-wing flies, &c., and named from their superficial resemblance to a Mantis owing to the length of the prothorax and the shape and prehensorial nature of the anterior legs. The larva, at first campodeiform, makes its way into the egg-case of a spider or the See also:

NEST

nest of a See also:

WASP (Lat. vespa)

wasp to feed upon the eggs or young. Subsequently it changes into a See also:

FAT (O.E. fdett; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch vet, Ger. Fett, &c., and may be ultimately related to Greek Irian, and =apos, and Sanskrit pivan)

fat See also:

GRUB

grub with See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short legs. When full grown it spins a silken cocoon in which the transformation into the pupa is effected. The latter escapes from its See also:

double case before moulting into the mature insect.

End of Article: MANTIS

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