90 SOCIAL LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD 



moment of laying her eggs worked upside-down, 

 clinging to the wire near the top of the cover. M51 

 presence, my magnifying-glass, my investigations did not 

 disturb her in the least, so absorbed was she in her 

 labours. I was able to lift up the dome of wire gauze, 

 tilt it, reverse it, turn it over and reverse it again, without 

 causing the msect to delay her task for a moment. I 

 was able, with my tweezers, to raise the long wings in 

 order to observe rather more closely what was taking 

 place beneath them ; the Mantis took absolutely no 

 notice of me. So far all was well ; the female did not 

 move, and lent herself impassively to all the indiscretions 

 of the observer. Nevertheless, matters did not proceed 

 as I had wished, so rapid was the operation and so 

 difficult observation. 



The end of the abdomen is constantly immersed in 

 a blob of foam, which does not allow one to grasp the 

 details of the process very clearly. This foam is of a 

 greyish white, slightly viscous, and almost like soapsuds. 

 At the moment of its appearance it adheres slightly 

 to the end of a straw plunged into it. Two minutes 

 later it is solidified and no longer adheres to the straw. 

 In a short time its consistency is that of the substance of 

 an old nest. 



The foamy mass consists chiefly of air imprisoned 

 in minute bubbles. This air, which gives the nest a 

 volume very much greater than that of the abdomen of 

 the Mantis, evidently does not issue from the insect 

 although the foam appears at the orifice of the genital 

 organs ; it is borrowed from the atmosphere. The 

 Mantis builds more especially with air, which is 

 eminently adapted to protect the nest against changes 



