THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 187 



ovipositor as before, placed an egg exactly end to end with 

 the first one laid, and so on throughout the second row. A 

 third row is sometimes laid on the first, forming a second 

 tier ; and I have batches of the shells where even third and 

 fourth tiers have been raised. The female now takes wing, 

 alighting on a neighbouring twig ; and the operation is re- 

 peated, with intervals of rest, until she has laid about half 

 her store, the remainder being retained for a subsequent 

 evening. The exact moment for laying the eggs appears not 

 to be under the control of the female : when the impulse is 

 on, she is most impatient to adjust herself, and, if she has not 

 completely succeeded when the proper moment arrives for 

 the passage of the egg, she appears to have no power to re- 

 tain it, and it becomes attached to any part that the ovi- 

 positor may happen to touch at the moment of emission. I 

 have frequently counted the eggs taken from the unimpreg- 

 nated females of E. versicolor when preparing the insects for 

 the cabinet; they generally number about 160, but those 

 emitted seldom exceed 120, often less, the female (at least in 

 captivity) becoming too exhausted to complete. Strong, 

 healthy females will lay their eggs with the greatest precision 

 and nicety ; the small and weaker ones are generally great 

 bunglers throughout, and deposit them very irregularly. 



The eggs, when first laid, are of a bright yellow, and about 

 half the length of a grain of wheat ; they soon assume a rich 

 brown, much the colour of the twigs on which they are de- 

 posited : in warm, sunny weather the change of colour will 

 be effected in twenty-four hours, but when cold and dull it 

 occupies several days. In this state they remain about three 

 weeks or a month, the time varying with the state of the 

 atmosphere. Let us watch the progress of hatching. Our 

 eggs have now become dark flesh-colour, and we can see the 

 movements of the young larva within the pellucid shell. See, 

 there is a small hole at the end of each egg ; these increase 

 in size, and if we examine them with a pocket lens we see 

 the projecting jaws of the young larva nibbling away at the 

 edge of the openings, until the head appears, and the body 

 quickly follows : half an hour will see the majority clear. 

 Observe how they wander over the shells, gently feeling 

 each other as they come in contact : they are seeking a 

 " trail," and, as soon as they are satisfied none can be found, 



