The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1906-03-14
FLOWERS "a PREY.


Which Their Prey Think Plants.
Probably in some respects the most
surprising result of late chronological
exploration is the discovery Of SEM
blances Of orchidaceous flowers en-
dowed with animal life and voraclous
carniverous appetites, that seize and
incontinently devour insect vegetar-
ians which, allured by their form and
color, incautiously alight upon them.
These flower insects belong to the
curious family Montidae. OF which we
have a well-known member in our
Southern States, Phasmomantis caro-
lima, commonly called praying man
tis," though if the first part Of the
name was spelled with an 'e' instead
Of an "a" it would be far more appro-
pirate, since no known insect is more
bloodthirsty and destructive of smaller
and weaker individuals belonging to its
class. It's form is characteristic of its
predatory habits. The mantis is really
a four-legged insect for the four limbs
are so modified that they cannot under
any circumstances be used in walking
and are no more properly termed legs
than would be the arms Of men or
the wings of birds. They are, in fact.
the natural weapons of the insect and
ave used for nothing else than fighting
and for capturing prey.
| An insect discovered by Wood Mason
masquerades sometimes as pink and
at others as a white orchid. The whole
flower insect is either conspicuously
white or of resplendent pink color,
| and both in color and form perfectly
initiates q flower. The lower or ap-
parently anterior petal of an Orchida-
ceous blossom, the labellum, often of
very curious shape, is represented
by the abdomen of the insect. while
the parts which might be taken re-
garding it as an insect, for its wings.
are actually the femurs of the two
pairs of posterior limbs, so greatly ex-
panded, fiattened and shaped in such
manner as to represent the remaining
petals of the flower. AS the mantis
rests. head downward, amid the stems
and leaves Of plant, the forelegs
drawn in so that they cannot be seen,
the thighs Of the two hind legs radiat-
ing out on each side, and the thorax
and the abdomen raised at right angles
to each other, the insect might easily at
first sight deceive more discriminating
entomologists than the hOney-seekers
that settle upon it.
An allied species, exactly resembling
pink orchid, is mentioned by DR..
Wallace. on the authority Of Sir
Charles Dixie as inhabiting Java. Its
speciality is alluring and capturing but
terfiies. The expected guest having
arrived. the seeming feast spread out
for his delectation arises and devours
him.
Professor S. Kurz. while at Pegu, in
lower Burmah. saw what he supposed
to be an orchid of a species unfamiliar
to him, but upon examination found
it to be O. mantis of the genus GOngy-
lus. AS is common with the habit of
Its kind when alighting upon a plant.
1t hung head downward, exposing the
under surface to view, sometimes mo-
tionless, and sometimes swaying gently
like flower touched by gentle zephyrs.
A bright violet-blue dilation of the
thorax, in front of which it's forelegs,
banded violet and black, extended like
petals, simulated the corolla of
papiIlonaceous flower so perfectly as to
deceive the eyes of practiced bot
anist.
A whole tribe Of spiders. members of
the Thomisdae family. living in flower
cups. assume the colors and markings
Of the flowers in which they lie in wait |
for victims.
Brazilian birds. fycatchers, display
brilliantly colored crest easily mis- |
taken for a flower cup. Insects, at
tracted by what appears to be fresh |
ly opened blossom, furnish the birds |
with food. An Asiatic lizard is en-
tirely covered like the surface of the |
desert plain where it lives, except that |
at each angle of the mouth blooms a
brilliant red folding Of the flesh exact
ly resembling little flower that grows
in the sand. Insects lured by the seem
ing flower are incontinently disillu-
stoned when they settle upon it.-Sci-
entific American.