The Life of the Grasshopper 



the exit-zone, where they form a double row 

 of small, imbricated scales. 



The eggs are buried in a yellow matrix of 

 horny appearance. They are placed in 

 layers, shaped like segments of a circle, with 

 the ends containing the heads converging to- 

 wards the exit-zone. This arrangement tells 

 us how the deliverance is accomplished. The 

 new-born larvae will slip into the space left 

 between two adjoining plates, a prolongation 

 of the kernel, where they will find a narrow 

 passage, difficult to go through, but just suf- 

 ficient when we bear in mind the curious 

 provision of which we shall speak presently; 

 and by so doing they will reach the middle 

 belt. Here, under the imbricated scales, two 

 outlets open for each layer of eggs. Half 

 of the larvae undergoing their liberation will 

 emerge through the right door, half through 

 the left. And this is repeated for each layer 

 from end to end of the nest. 



To sum up these structural details, which 

 are rather difficult to grasp for any one who 

 has not the thing in front of him : lying along 

 the axis of the nest and shaped like a date- 

 stone is the cluster of eggs, grouped in layers. 

 A protecting rind, a sort of solidified foam, 

 surrounds this cluster, except at the top along 



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