A N'ew Beneficial Insect in America. 61 



the ootlieca ; whilst attaining a sufficient consistence it is main- 

 tained in position bj tlie extreniitv of the body and the tips of the 

 elytra, and it is shaped and fashioned by these parts. The eggs are 

 not, as might be supposed, distributed at random through the case, 

 but are lodged in symmetrically-arranged chambers, though how 

 these chambers come into existence by the aid of so simple a mode 

 of construction does not appear. The capsule is hard ; it quite 

 conceals the eggs, which might very naturally be supposed to be 

 sufficiently protected by their covering : this does not, however, 

 appear to he the case, as it is recorded that they are subject to the 

 attacks of Hymenopterous parasites." This description of the egg- 

 case well applies to the eggs of our Mantis religiosa^ but as yet, 

 fortunately there are no indications that any of its European ene- 

 mies were imported with it. 



It seems scarcely possible that one female Mantis could lay more 

 than one of these egg-cases, yet Mr. Atwood says in sending us the 

 two eo^o;-cases show^i in fio^ure l-I : " Recoo^nizins:, as I do, the feel- 

 ing between the specimens, I cannot but think tliat both these 

 clusters were deposited by the same insect." This is possible, for 

 Trimen records that a South African Mantid constructed four nests 

 of eggs at intervals of about a fortnight. In our cages only one 

 egg-cluster has been laid by a female, and the insect died soon after- 

 W'ard. But Zimmerman states that a specimen of our common 

 southern species {S. Carolina) which he captured on October 3d, 

 laid one egg-case the next day, and instead of dying as he expected, 

 it ate voraciously, its body enlarged and on the 2tl:th of the same 

 month it occupied several hours in laying another similar egg-case ; 

 still the insect remained alive, was fed, its body again enlarged as 

 though it would lay again, but it remained alive until December 

 27th and died without making a third egg-case. The eggs in the 

 first mass hatched May 20th and those in the second mass tliree 

 days later. 



Mantis religiosa seems to lay its eggs in various situations near 

 Rochester ; sometimes on the sides of a house, again on the twigs 

 of trees, but apparently most often on the stems of grasses, as shown 

 in figure 14. 



Habits of the young" Mantids or nymphs. — ^ Sharp states tliat 



