A Pleasant Animal,

Manawatu Herald, 19 July 1894, Page 3

A Pleasant Animal,

The newest acquisitions at the London Zoological Gardens, so new that they have not received a name, are a couple of mantis. The animal has been called the •• praying" mantis, from his habit of holding the fore limbs in a bent position, indictive of adoration. But the word might just as well be spelled with an " c," for the creature is one of the most voracious of insects, preferring flies. These it catches most dexterously with its elbow, so to speak. The bent joints of the limb come together on the fly, which is then eaten like a carrot, the mantis commencing at one end and steadily browsing through it until the other extremity is reached. At the present moment the two mantis are attached to the perforated ziuc at the top of their cage ; both ends are curled up into a most unusual posi tion, and it is a matter of perfectly even betting which is head and which ii tail. Another feature is its strong resemblance to a withered and crooked bracelet, with two or three faded leaves still hanging on. This may very possibly induce in the fly mind a wrong sense of security, Yrhieh is apt to prove iU-fovmdecl,