1916] Breeding Habits of the Orthoptera 125 



From time to time the abdomen is buried deep in the mass, and 

 it is supposed that actual egg-laying occurs at this time. The 

 time required for completion of the egg case is about two hours. 

 The ootheca as it is finally left by the female is a rough, oval 

 structure composed in its interior of horny material which 

 gives place near the surface to an alveolar structure. The 

 outer covering resembles tough silk in its consistency. The 

 eggs are arranged in regular tiers in the center of the case. The 

 entire structure is an admirable one for resisting the rigors of 

 the weather as well as the attacks of insects and of parasites. 



The Phasmids have a type of egg-laying that appears to be 

 most simple. The eggs are simply discharged at random and 

 fall to the ground. The fact that a fairly well developed 

 ovipositor still persists in the Phasmids which practice this 

 random method of oviposition seems to indicate that this 

 method of deposit is a recently acquired one. 



When the female of the Acridid^ is ready to lay her eggs, she 

 brings forward the end of her abdomen, and inserting it into 

 the ground at a sharp angle to the axis of the body, she works 

 the valves of the ovipositor and shoves with the abdomen until 

 the entire posterior end of the body is buried in the ground. 

 Having accomplished this, she fills the cavity which she has made 

 with eggs arranged in oblique columns and at the same time 

 she exudes a viscous liquid which fills the hole and binds the 

 eggs together. Some of the grouse locusts on account of their 

 small bodies and short abdomens can construct only shal- 

 low burrows. Such animals frequently lay in moss where the 

 eggs are protected by their resemblance to seeds found there. 



The Locustidae and the Gryllidae present a wide variation in 

 their manner of egg-depositing. The Katydids live mainly on 

 bushes and trees and deposit their eggs there. In some 

 instances the eggs are glued to the side of a twig and in others 

 they are stuck to the edge of a leaf, or even enclosed in the end 

 of a leaf which has been split for this purpose. When a female is 

 ready to deposit her eggs, she roughens the surface of the twig 

 and removes any buds or other projections. Then bringing 

 forward the end of her scimiter-shaped ovipositor she guides it 

 into the correct position by means of her palpi and jaws and 

 then emits a glue-like liquid which adheres to the twig. The 

 egg then appears shiny black at first, but turns gray later and 

 is glued fast so that it lies at a slight angle to the twig. 



