Vol. Xxiv] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 323 



Fragments on North American Insects V. 



By A. A. GIRAULT, Nelson (Cairns), North Queensland, 



Australia. 



1. Hatching of a Mantid (Orthop.). 



During the last day of January, 1904, I found several egg- 

 cases of a mantid on a shrub in the suburbs of Houston, Tex- 

 as. When the eggs hatched the young nymphs were still 

 within the envelope and resembled, then, small pupae. The 

 nymph leaves the egg head first, issuing in this case from a 

 canal-like, prolonged end of the ootheca, and then lies quietly 

 upon the side of the latter. Soon the envelope parts along the 

 dorsum and is drawn over the head and then worked back 

 from over the body by squirming movements, first the an- 

 tennae and then the legs becoming free. When the last pair 

 of legs are freed, the envelope then free from all of the body 

 with the exception of the last two or three abdominal seg- 

 ments, the nymph turns over upon its back and pushes the 

 latter off with the caudal tarsi. The hatching and casting of 

 the envelope occupies about five minutes. When entirely free 

 the nymph lies inert for about another minute and then sud- 

 denly darts up and away. 



A case observed at 10 A. M., May 29, 1904, is worth record- 

 ing. The pronymph was first observed lying upon its side upon 

 the egg case. It then resembled a free pupa, the appendages 

 extended along the sides, the tarsi projecting at right an- 

 gles. The body was gently squirming until after a short while 

 the envelope parted along the thorax and was with difficulty 

 worked over the head ; afterward it was very quickly, almost 

 imperceptibly, slipped off the body like a glove from the fin- 

 ger. When the legs had been freed and the envelope adhering 

 only to the last two abdominal segments, the nymph turned 

 over upon its back, propped up by the knees of the first and sec- 

 ond pairs of legs and, somewhat figuratively, kicked the en- 

 veloping integument off (not unlike the position of a man ly- 

 ing on his back propped up by the elbows and kicking with the 



