The Mantis: her Nest 



What a wonderful mechanism is this 

 which emits so methodically and swiftly the 

 horny matrix of the central kernel, the pro- 

 tecting froth, the white foam of the median 

 ribbon, the eggs and the fertilizing fluid and 

 which at the same time is able to build over- 

 lapping plates, imbricated scales and alter- 

 nating open fissures! We are lost in ad- 

 miration. And yet how easily the work is 

 done ! The Mantis hangs motionless on the 

 wire gauze which is the foundation of her 

 nest. She gives not a glance at the edifice 

 that is rising behind her; her legs are not 

 called upon for assistance of any kind. The 

 thing works of itself. We have here not an 

 industrial task requiring the cunning of in- 

 stinct; it is a purely automatic process, regu- 

 lated by the insect's tools and organization. 

 The nest, with its highly complicated struc- 

 ture, proceeds solely from the play of the 

 organs, even as in our own industries we 

 manufacture by machinery a host of objects 

 whose perfection would outwit our manual 

 dexterity. 



From another point of view, the Mantis' 

 nest is more remarkable still. We see in it 

 a superb application of one of the most beau- 

 tiful principles of physics, that of the con- 



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