FABRE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



selves, the protecting froth, the soft sugar-like covering 

 of the doorways, and at the same time can build over- 

 lapping plates, and the narrow passages leading t?o them I 

 Yet the Mantis, while she is doing all this, hangs mo- 

 tionless on the foundation of the nest. She gives not 

 a glance at the building that is rising behind her. Her 

 legs act no part in the affair. The machinery works by 

 itself. 



As soon as she has done her work the mother with- 

 draws. I expected to see her return and show some 

 tender feeling for the cradle of her family, but it 

 evidently has no further interest for her. 



The Mantis, I fear, has no heart. She eats her hus- 

 band, and deserts her children. 



Ill 



THE HATCHING OF HER EGGS 



The eggs of the Mantis usually hatch in bright sun- 

 shine, at about ten o'clock on a mid-June morning. 



As I have already told you, there is only one part of 

 the nest from which the grub can find an outlet, namely 

 the band of scales round the middle. From under each 

 of these scales one sees slowly appearing a blunt, trans- 

 parent lump, followed by two large black specks, which 

 are the creature's eyes. The baby grub slips gently 



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