184 Explanation of Plates. 



appears to be laid, but as by no conjuring can the rest of the egg be 

 between the plates of the terebra, it is evident that the egg has 

 now no spherical form, but that the rest of it is within the body of 

 the insect, and at this stage and the further one shown in 



Fig. 8, the egg is seen to stretch along the terebra as far as the 

 transparency of the parts allow, up to the thick opaque sheath of 

 the terebra; in fact, into the body of the insect. In PI. XV. — 



Fig. 9, though much of the egg is within the pocket, a portion still 

 connects this portion with some still within the insect. During 

 all this time the egg must be in a very soft plastic condition, so as 

 to be capable of being stretched out and moulded to suit the neces- 

 sities of the position. 



Fig. 10 shows the egg nearly all laid. As the laying is completed 

 so the terebra descends to quite the bottom of the pocket, and with 

 hardly any interval is withdrawn. 



PI. XVI, fig. 11 is the egg some time later (still quite diagram- 

 matically) to show the positions taken up by the eye of the larva. 

 Only one eye is seen, but this moves rhythmically between the two 

 positions shown in the diagram. 



Fig. 12 is a pocket after the larva has escaped (this under camera), 

 showing the rupture by which the larva emerges, in this instance 

 decidedly smaller than usual. This diagram is on a slightly larger 

 scale than the others. 



