AN EARWIG MOTHER. 83 



quiet. I fed them with pieces of ripe apple, 

 which the mother seized and ate with great avidity, 

 detaching morsels of it by means of her teeth, and 

 swallowing them. The young ones also ate a 

 little of it, but with less avidity." 



When the eggs of the spider mentioned in the 

 last chapter as so devotedly attached to its trea- 

 sure as to prefer death to parting with them, are 

 hatched, they make their way out of the bag by an 

 opening in it, being assisted by the mother in this 

 difficult task. De Geer indeed states that this is 

 the reason why the mother clings so tenaciously to 

 the bag of eggs, as if she knew that her assistance 

 in extricating her young from it was necessary. 

 But this is not altogether correct, as they are able 

 to make their way out by themselves in due time. 

 When the young larvae have come forth from the 

 shell they run towards the mother, and climb upon 

 her body ; some get on her head, some on her 

 back, and some on her limbs. In this manner she 

 carries them about, and is said to feed them until 

 they become strong enough to shift for themselves. 

 " I have more than once been gratified," (writes 

 one of the authors of the Introduction to Ento- 

 mology,) " by a sight of this interesting -spectacle ; 



