such a conjuncture the death of one or the other is essential to appease
the demon whose intervention has been invoked. Hence the discomfort of a
Singhalese on finding a beetle in his house after sunset, and his
anxiety to expel but not to kill it.

_Tortoise Beetles_.--There is one family of insects, the members of
which cannot fail to strike the traveller by their singular beauty, the
_Cassididae_ or tortoise beetles, in which the outer shell overlaps the
body, and the limbs are susceptible of being drawn entirely within it.
The rim is frequently of a different tint from the centre, and one
species which I have seen is quite startling from the brilliancy of its
colouring, which gives it the appearance of a ruby enclosed in a frame
of pearl; but this wonderful effect disappears immediately on the death
of the insect.

ORTHOPTERA. _Leaf-insects_.--But in relation to the insects of Ceylon
the admiration of their colours is still less exciting than the
astonishment created by the forms in which some of the families present
themselves; especially the "soothsayers" (_Mantidae_) and "walking
leaves." The latter[1], exhibiting the most cunning of all nature's
devices for the preservation of her creatures, are found in the jungle
in all varieties of hues, from the pale yellow of an opening bud to the
rich green of the full-blown leaf, and the withered tint of decay. So
perfect is the imitation of a leaf in structure and articulation, that
this amazing insect when at rest is almost undistinguishable from the
foliage around: not only are the wings modelled to resemble ribbed and
fibrous follicles, but every joint of the legs is expanded into a broad
plait like a half-opened leaflet.

[Footnote 1: Phyllium siccifolium.]

[Illustration: STICK INSECT AND MANTIS]

It rests on its abdomen, the legs serving to drag it slowly along, and
thus the flatness of its attitude serves still further to add to the
appearance of a leaf. One of the most marvellous incidents connected
with its organisation was exhibited by one which I kept under a glass
shade on my table, it laid a quantity of eggs, that, in colour and
shape, were not to be distinguished from _seeds_. They were brown, and
pentangular, with a short stem, and slightly punctured at the
intersections.

[Illustration]

The "soothsayer," on the other hand (_Mantis superstitiosa._ Fab.[1]),
little justifies by its propensities the appearance of gentleness, and
the attitudes of