Preface 



a still more astonishing system of hatching. 

 Here, the lid of the egg is not riveted, as in 

 the case of the Pentatomidae, but simply 

 glued. At the moment of liberation, the lid 

 rises and we see : 



' . . . a spherical vesicle emerge from the 

 shell and gradually expand, like a soap- 

 bubble blown through a straw. Driven 

 further and further back by the extension of 

 this bladder, the lid falls. 



'Then the bomb bursts; in other words, 

 the blister, swollen beyond its capacity of 

 resistance, rips at the top. This envelope, 

 which is an extremely tenuous membrane, 

 generally remains clinging to the edge of the 

 orifice, where it forms a high, white rim. 

 At other times, the explosion loosens it 

 and flings it outside the shell. In those con- 

 ditions, it is a dainty cup, half spherical, with 

 torn edges, lengthened out below into a deli- 

 cate, winding stalk.' 



Now, how is this miraculous explosion pro- 

 duced? J. H. Fabre assumes that: 



'Very slowly, as the little animal takes 

 shape and grows, this bladder-shaped reser- 



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