1910] Kershaw — Ootheca of a Chinese Mantis 139 
edges or flanges of the egg plates, but altogether working out and 
disappearing in the central part of the egg plate, thus leaving a 
passageway for the nymphs from the lower eggs. The hollows 
where the eggs lie and the ridges between them are shown on the 
left-hand egg plate in Fig. 7, Pl. 2. 
The insect next makes the egg plate and its concomitant parts 
for the egg chamber of the opposite row, and lays the eggs thereon. 
It next forms another egg plate over the eggs first laid, and there- 
after adds a chamber alternately to each row until the whole batch 
of eggs is laid; then a few small, rough chambers decreasing in 
size and without eggs are added, and finally the ootheca is closed by 
one small central plate. 
Turning to Pl. 2 and following the construction of an egg cham- 
ber in detail: An egg plate (Ep, Fig. 1) is first made; a flap (FL) 
is cemented on; a flange (FG, Fig. 2) is next cemented around 
the outer edge of the egg plate; then a coverstrip (CVS) is at- 
tached; and a closing membrane (CM, Fig. 3) renders the plate 
ready for the eggs. This closing membrane is a membraneous flap 
of colleterial matter, thin and flexible, which is cemented all around 
its edge to the egg plate, except across the top; it bulges outwards 
from bottom to top, where it rests against the egg plate next added, 
and thus closes the exit from the chamber; but it is easily thrust 
back against the back plate of the chamber when the nymphs are 
squeezing their way out. The mode of junction of the egg plates 
is’ shown specially in Fig. 7, Pl. 2, and Fig; 5, Pl: 1, where the 
joints are purposely left not quite touching, as in some of the other 
figures, for the sake of clearness, but of course they are really 
closely cemented together. At Fig. 4, Pl. 2, is shown a side view 
of an egg plate, without the coverstrip; at Fig. 5, Pl. 2, three cover- 
strips cemented together. At Fig. 6, Pl. 2, a vertical section 
through an egg chamber on the line c—d, Fig. 7. At Fig. 7 three 
egg chambers are shown in plan, the single chamber projected from 
Fig. 6. In Fig. 6, fl* is part of the flap of one of the chambers in 
the opposite row. 
The shape of the flaps in transverse section is shown at UV, 
WX, YZ, Fig. 4, Pl. 1, representing sections across the flaps at 
about the heights of the corresponding lines in Fig. 3, Pl. 1. It 
will be seen that at YZ the flaps are joined or cemented together 
