MANTIS RELIGIOSA.
Plate VIII.
This well-known species is about two inches in length, of a light green colour, inclining to brown in some places, and occasionally almost entirely of the latter hue; thorax elongate, particularly in the female, and smooth on the surface; tegmina as long as the abdomen, green and unspotted, each of them with a strong longitudinal nervure, at some distance from the anterior border; under wings of an elongate triangular shape, green anteriorly and of a firmer texture than behind, where the colour is pale white; the abdomen and legs are also green; the anal spines, as well as those on the anterior legs, deep chestnut. On the inner side of the coxæ of the fore-legs, there is a yellow spot bordered with black—a peculiarity which, according to Latreille, serves to distinguish this species from one nearly allied, which is a native of the Cape of Good Hope.
This species appears to be general throughout the Mediterranean region, and in many places it occurs in great profusion. It is the M. prie-dieu of the southern provinces of France and Italy. If the synonyms of authors were to be admitted as accurate, it should likewise be regarded as extensively distributed over foreign lands, but in many instances they
