It is this fixed and as it were meditative attitude which has gained for them the name of _Mantis_, derived from the Greek word [Greek: mantis], or "diviner," as it was imagined that in this attitude they interrogated the future. The manner in which they hold their long front legs, raised like arms to Heaven, has also contributed to make this superstitious notion believed, and sufficiently explains the names given to divers species of _Mantidæ_; such as Nun, Saint, Preacher, Suppliant, Mendicant, &c. Caillaud, a traveller, tells us that in Central Africa a _Mantis_ is an object of worship. According to Sparmann, another species is worshipped by the Hottentots. If by chance a _Mantis_ should settle on a person, this person is considered by them to have received a particular favour from heaven, and from that moment takes rank among the saints! In France the country people believe that these insects point out the way to travellers. Mouffet, a naturalist of the seventeenth century, says on this subject, in a description of the _Mantis_:--"This little creature is considered of so divine a nature, that to a child who asks it its way, it points it out by stretching out one of its legs, and rarely or never makes a mistake." In the eyes of the Languedoc peasants the _Mantis religiosa_ is almost sacred. They call it _Prega-Diou_ (_Prie-Dieu_), and believe firmly that it performs its devotions--its attitude, when it is on the watch for its prey, resembling that of prayer. Settled on the ground, it raises its head and thorax, clasps together the joints of its front legs, and remains thus motionless for hours together. But only let an imprudent fly come within reach of our devotee, and you will see it stealthily approach it, like a cat who is watching a mouse, and with so much precaution that you can scarcely see that it is moving. Then, all of a sudden, as quick as lightning, it seizes its victim between its legs, provided with sharp spines, which cross each other, conveys it to its mouth, and devours it. Our make-believe Nun, Preacher, our _Prega-Diou_, is nothing better than a patient watcher and pitiless destroyer. The _Mantis religiosa_ (Fig. 302), common enough in the south of France, comes as far north as the environs of Fontainebleau. The _Mantis oratoria_, rather smaller, is less commonly met with. These elegant insects are remarkable for their long slim bodies, their large wings, and their colours, which are generally very bright. In some species their green or yellowish elytra look so exactly like the leaves of trees that one can hardly help taking them for such.