HABITS AND INSTINCTS OP ANIMALS, CHAP. Ill, 



21 



hatches her eggs in the same manner as a hen, and 

 broods over her progeny with affectionate assiduity, 

 continuing frequently in the same sitting posture foi 



hours. Baron de 

 Geer, finding one 

 in this position, re- 

 moved it into a box, 

 in different parts of 

 which he scattered 

 the eggs. The 

 mother, however, 

 speedily carried 

 them in her jaws 

 into a heap, and sa f 

 on them as before.* The mole cricket (^/zgr.22.), an in- 



sect by no means uncommon in this country, forms a 

 cell in the moist earth for the accommodation of her 

 eggs, which she afterwards carefully closes, stationing 

 herself close to the entrance, to prevent the access of 

 enemies. It has been said, indeed, that nothing can 

 exceed the care of these insects in the preservation of 

 their young. Wherever a nest is situated, fortifications,, 

 avenues, and intrenchments surround it; there are, also, 

 numerous meanderings which lead to it ; and a ditch 

 encompasses the whole, which few other insects are ca- 

 pable of passing, f A species of field bug found in 

 this country (Cimex griseus), brings up her family, 

 which generally consists of thirty or forty young, 

 leading them about as a hen does her chickens, and 



* De Geer, vol. iif . p. ! 



Bing. A trim. Biog. vol. iii. p. 270. 



