The Life of the Grasshopper 



the brushwood, would now hinder the emer- 

 gence, would make it very laborious, impossi- 

 ble. The creature therefore comes into ex- 

 istence swaddled and furthermore takes the 

 shape of a boat. 



The case of the Cicada and the Mantis 

 opens up a new vein to us in the inexhaustible 

 entomological mine. I extract from it a law 

 which other and similar facts, picked up 

 more or less everywhere, will certainly not 

 fail to confirm. The true larva is not always 

 the direct product of the egg. When the new- 

 born grub is likely to experience special dif- 

 ficulties in effecting its deliverance, an access- 

 ory organism, which I shall continue to call 

 the primary larva, precedes the genuine 

 larval state and has as its function to bring 

 to the light of day the tiny creature which is 

 incapable of releasing itself. 



To go on with our story, the primary 

 larva? show themselves under the thin plates 

 of the exit-zone. A vigorous flow of hu- 

 mours occurs in the head, swelling it out and 

 converting it into a diaphanous and ever- 

 throbbing blister. In this way the splitting- 

 apparatus is prepared. At the same time, 

 the little creature, half-caught under its scale, 

 sways, pushes forward, draws back. Each 



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