The Life of the Grasshopper 



Mantis and the Ameles, but finer in appear- 

 ance. This is the last drop of viscous matter, 

 dried and drawn out. Builders, when their 

 work is finished, crown the edifice with a 

 green bough and coloured streamers. In 

 much the same way, the Mantis tribe set up 

 a ma;st on the completed nest. 



A very thin grey-wash, formed of dried 

 foam, covers the Empusa's work, especially 

 on the upper surface. Under this delicate 

 glaze, which is easily rubbed off, the funda- 

 mental substance appears, homogeneous, 

 horny, pale-red. Six or seven hardly-per- 

 ceptible furrows divide the sides into curved 

 sections. 



After the hatching, a dozen round orifices 

 open on the top of the building, in two 

 alternate rows. These are the exit-doors for 

 the young larvas. The slightly projecting 

 rim is continued from each aperture to the 

 next in a sort of ribbon with a double row 

 of alternating loops. It is obvious that the 

 windings of this ribbon are the result of an 

 oscillating movement of the ovipositor in 

 labour. Those exit-holes, so regular in 

 shape and arrangement, completed by the 

 lateral ribs of the nest, present the appear- 

 ance of two dainty mouth-organs placed in 



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