THE MIRROR
OF
LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
| Vol. 14. No. 398.] | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1829 | [PRICE 2d. |
THE NATURALIST.
Castles, cathedrals, and churches, palaces, and parks, andarchitectural subjects generally, have occupied so manyfrontispiece pages of our recent numbers, that we have been inducedto select the annexed cuts as a pleasant relief to this artificialmonotony. They are Curiosities of Nature; and, in truth, moreinteresting than the proudest work of men's hands. Their economy ismuch more surprising than the most sumptuous production of art; andthe intricacy and subtlety of its processes throw into the shadeall the contrivances of social man: a few inquiries into theirstructure and habits will therefore prove entertaining to allclasses of readers.
1. THE PRAYING MANTIS.
The Mantis is a species of cricket, and belongs to theHemiptetera, or second order of insects. Blumenbach1 enumerates four varieties:—1.the Gigantic, from Amboyna, a span long, yet scarce as thick as agoose-quill, and eaten by the Indians. 2. Gonglyodes, from Guinea.3. the Religious Mantis, or Praying Cricket. 4. Another at theCape, and considered sacred by the Hottentots. The cut representsthe third of these varieties.
It mostly goes on four legs, holding up two shorter ones. Thehind legs are very long; the middle ones shorter. It is sometimescalled the Dried and Walking Leaf, from the resemblance ofits wing covering, in form and colour to a dry willow leaf; it isfound in China and South America, and in the latter country many ofthe Indians believe that Mantes grow on trees like leaves, and thathaving arrived at maturity, they loosen themselves, and crawl orfly away.
Mr. T. Carpenter2 hasrecently dissected the head of this species, in which he foundlarge and sharp cutting teeth; also strong grinding ones, similarto those in the heads of locusts: the balls at the ends fit intosockets in the jaw. The whole length of the insect is nearly threeinches; it is of slender shape, and in its sitting posture isobserved to hold up the two fore-legs slightly bent, as if in anattitude of prayer, whence its name; for this reason vulgarsuperstition has held it as a sacred insect; and a popular notionhas often prevailed, that a child, or a traveller having lost itsway, would be safely directed, by observing the quarter to whichthe animal pointed, when taken into the hand.
Its real disposition is, however, very far from peaceable: itpreys with great rapacity on smaller insects, for which it lies inwait, in the first mentioned posture, till it siezes them w