FOR GARDENERS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 448, 5 March 1909, Page 5

FOR GARDENERS.

ANOTHER INSECT FRIEND. THE NEW ZEALAND PRAYING MANTIS, _ This creature, gazing so intently at a fly, is a New Zealand-mantis, a resident, . proof -your'.,garden.: -Ho gots ' his living catching flies and other/insects —an occupation at which he past.master.. Look at him now, and observe, the thoughtful poise of the head. What is ho thinking of? Does the look in Lis eye imply deep concern for the fate of t»io fly ho means to oat before long'; or is it a twinkle of sarcasm there? Perhaps the queer quizzical ;'expression is quite unconscious.. It is a peculiarity of tho mantis'that he turns,his head to look at .you, just' as an animal does. Most insects do.not,need to: their oy6s—hundreds of eyes all in a . bunch—can see backwards as well as forwards' all at one time. But mantis turns his head aid gives yott that quizzical look which he is now bestowing upon —his dinner. His colour is bright green-pleaf green.People who have studied the ways of insects would say his: greenness is his armour or his ambush—donned' for the purpose of so resembling the 'parts of the plants on which he operates that he. may be unobserved, alike by his enemies ,and his victims. But really this is.carrying assumption too far. For the mantis had.no choice as to his colour when he was | born; Darwin: would doubtless say —if one searched.,his books sufficiently—that the greenness indicates tho survival of tho 'fittest-—that, those which - most resembled . leaves attd branches, succeeded most in escape ' ing their, and Therefore. , peopled their little world with offspring .like them — green.,-' But it. doesn't matter.* If you-find ;> a mantis in, your garden; take told of him. l You' will-'probably drop him very quickly. But. you needn't- fear. The peculiar scratching you felt in your hand was only the-rubbing of/those claws which ornament the-front legs.-. They show the connection, >with' his humble-relative, the grasshopper and' the fierce (waiter.' .But they have a murderous use. -They-make it ever so easy for,the; mantis 'to :hold his' dinner while he- ■ dines. -;' ;

"Watch how he "plays" a fly. Does he chase it and jump'on it, and ;roll over with it on the' ground? 'Not.a bit of it. He: waits and- quizzes as patiently as a cat. watches a monso's'hole.' 'If tho fly comes suddenly'.nearer-'he- ''may .give,, perhaps,' a nervous little 1 jump,' scarcely, perceptible, but lib does not! fumble. The catching of flies, which to' the infant -human takes years to accomplish satisfactorily, is a, born art with; mantis. l 'When thei ' right' moment arrives his front' legs, s - hitherto ■ invisibly, folded be-i l jieath. his chin, unfold'slightly,. and then there is a sudden Hick of his'body, and-the fly's travels are-ended. : : No cry; no kick, does the victim give, for .the claw-armed legs hold him .so-tightly and si) securely.' And mantis sits- up- and: feeds, jgracefully, perhaps, but determinedly.' The head of the, fly. is the first■course/ approached _probably from the back of the neck, where it is bitten- off. • Then-the chest follows toward..the same bourne, ."aid -it Can bo' seen how. the mantis endeavours every. , time, to .bite closely; into'the juicyi interior, ■ as'a. boy. bites' at ths middle of a jam sandwich.. One minute suffices for mantis to eat the whole of

an ordinary-house-fly, and he is' then, ready 1 for another.;,-Xei; : he'.is not big. ' It* l would be instructive tb.:liaye:'a list of , all .the gar- ; den insects—flies; moths, , butterflies, - etc. —: that he has: been. knoiVn to 'consume. The little black r fiy, tliat produces the leech of pear and . plum leaves should be ideal food for him.' Therefore, if you catch-one,-,treat him kindly, for he helps ypu iri'.your-.work.-Place, him. in a small box and lay a piece of'glass on it, so that you may watch his actions. Then catoh a house-fly, and put it alive into the.box with him', If you have not pinched . him or , alarmed him he will catch that fly. and show you how he auies. In some countries he .is-called the prating . mantis,., because of the pious attitude he strikes when.he is out'massacring. These, drawings are all .in life-size,- cxcept the head and legs, which'.. are'. enlarged ;to show the mode of feeding. In the two top figures,lie is in the larval 'form; in the bottom figure he is mature, with'-wings. The curious object shown attached to a twig of a. tree is a case full of mantis' eggs. The female, mantis makes rthis .case,' which is provided" with cells, arranged .as as the celjs of honeycomb,.and in:the,cells s }jo layg'her eggs. These egg-cases are ' often ,to be found on the' branches of fruit .trees: arid garden shrubs. It is well to; know them, because they are. worth, protecting. ■ They are usually brown coloured, like bark, and stick on. tightly. .

Froggatt. Australian entomologist, gays the Australian bush'children call the mantes the forest-ladies, • because of their dainty form and-graceful movements. (Some of the-. lacewing Hies, however, have the same nickname.) In America they are called Tear' horses. 1 The .Romans called them soothsayers.'. ..They are.'a, numerous family: 848 different.' species of; thorn , have been described. • What happens when the eggs hatch is rather queer.' Each little .mantis comes out of his cell with a cord fastening him to it, and he hangs head downwards. "When they are all out they resemble a mass of tiny caterpillars hanging by threads. i.Thcy remain thus till, ■ they cast their first larvh] coat,' and then they, drop to the ground, soft, wingless,''stick-like.insects, ready to hunt for food.' The species ' illustrated is the orthodera minir-tralis; common' in New Zealand, probably introduced from. Australia on garden plants.. It',is 1 ,Strictly .insectivorous—a fact which' -its green colour would hnrdly'suggest—and its appetite is insatiable.:, whether in the larval or winged form. Its large, glassy eyes, are conspicuous.

r»airy farmers .who are . acquainted with thv 'loirvinrr experiTT'onts of Lord Rothschild will fir interested in.the following paragraph frov "The Firmer rnd Stockbreeder":—"An imnnrhnt event .in the spring sales' will ho th" entire dispersal of Lord Rothschild's valunble herd W red' polled cattle . at • Tring Park, bred for many years with strict regard to the-dairy properties of each family. The herd is to bo dispersed in consequence of one of . the farms_ in hand being given up to the : Hertfordshire County Council for small holdings. The date of the sale will shortlv he announced It has been decided to sell before the entries for tho principal 'Jp closed."