44 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



terial, which soon is converted into the frothy sub- 

 stance. After it has reached the proper consistency 

 nuder the manipulation of the ovipositor, it passes on 

 into the pile ready to be fashioned into the beginning of 

 the egg-case. During this process the ovipositor is much 

 distended and attains great size; the opening also is 

 very large under this condition. 



The egg-case is begun at the broad, rounded end, and 

 the construction progresses from side to side ; each row 

 of cells across the case is completed and the partition re- 

 enforced before the next tier is begun. The ovipositor 

 slowly works into the soft substance until quite a hol- 

 low space is formed ; this forms one row of four cells on 

 one side; then it passes on to make the corresponding 

 suite on the other side. The dividing line between the 

 right and left sides of the egg-^case is indicated by the 

 braided appearance on top. Evidently the eggs^*^ are 

 deposited during this hollowing-out process, and are em- 

 bedded in the soft substance. They undoubtedly leave 

 the body with this material, but never in all of my mantis 

 experience could they be seen even with the closest 

 scrutiny. While burrowing into the substance at the 

 sides the ovipositor goes in more deeply, evidently to 

 shape the lateral galleries. After a suite on each side 

 has been completed some of the substance from the 

 periphery is stretched over it to form a re-enforced par- 

 tition between this and the next row of cells; this is 

 perfected and smoothed by left and right strokes of the 

 ovipositor. The insect then repeats the process, hol- 

 lowing out and partition-making until the whole is com- 

 pleted. One tier of cells is always complete, even to the 

 little ribbon-like flap on top which is the door, before the 

 hollowing out of the next tier commences. If the egg- 

 case be large, the mother mantis will sometimes move a 

 short distance downward as the structure grows. How 

 the openings are made at the top during the construction 



" The eggs are from 2 to 2^/^ mm. in length. 



