THE WALKING LEAF, (Phyllium siccifolium,)
Has a shorter neck than the Mantis, and its fore-legs are not constructed as claspers, but the body is very flat and leaf-like, and the wing-cases are veined so as to look exactly like a leaf; indeed, if seen adhering motionless to the branch of a tree, it would certainly be mistaken for a leaf. They are found in the East Indies. It is curious that while these creatures present such a deceptive resemblance to leaves, there are some near relatives of theirs which are equally similar to sticks and twigs, so that the semblance of a leafy branch might easily be made by fixing the former upon the latter. Some of these Walking Sticks are eight or nine inches in length, and the whole body and legs are of precisely the colour and texture of bark.
THE GRASSHOPPER, (Locusta flavipes,)
Is of a green colour, with the wing-cases brown, and the head somewhat resembling that of a horse; the corselet is armed with a strong buckler. Of its six legs the hinder two are much longer than the others, to assist the insect in leaping. The male makes a chirping noise, which is caused by the thighs being rubbed against the sides of the wing-cases: if handled roughly, the Grasshopper bites very sharply.
Toward the end of autumn the female deposits her eggs in a hole, which she makes in the earth for the purpose. These eggs sometimes amount to a hundred and fifty; they are about the size of caraway-seeds, white, oval, and of a horny substance. The female, having thus performed her duty, soon languishes and dies. In the beginning of May following a small white larva issues out of each egg. The creature passes about twenty days under this humble form; after which, having assumed the pupa shape, while all the rudiments of the future Grasshopper are concealed under a thin outward skin, it retires under a thistle or a thorn-bush, most likely in order to be more secure; and there, after a variety of laborious exertions, writhings, and palpitations, the temporary covering divides, and the insect jumps out of its exuviæ.