6090/12531
[ stop the slideshow ]

The Mantis

The Mantis.jpg The Kauri BugThumbnailsThe Weta, FemaleThe Kauri BugThumbnailsThe Weta, FemaleThe Kauri BugThumbnailsThe Weta, FemaleThe Kauri BugThumbnailsThe Weta, Female

Another curious insect found here is the "Mantis," commonly called, on account of its shape, "the ridge-pole rafter." This insect has the power of changing its colour like the chameleon. It favours tea-tree more than any other plant, and if resting on a withered portion, assumes a corresponding brown colour, though when found on the young leaves it is a bright green. Its shape is most peculiar, and very suggestive of the name given it.