100 MY STUDIO NEIGHBORS 



with each circuit, until the full height is reached, 

 and then decreasing proportionately until the 

 glistening braided dome is tapered off again 

 against tht bark. 



Now what is the object of this frothy pavilion ? 

 The life history of the insect, in contrast to that 

 of the cicada, will perhaps throw a little light on 



that question. In the cicada, as I have shown, 

 the eggs are inserted in the bark, but the young, 

 hatching about six weeks later, immediately for- 

 sake the parent tree and enter the ground. But 

 the young of our bittersweet membracis are not 

 thus fickle, the entire life of the insect being spent 

 on the plant. Moreover, its eggs are laid in late 

 summer, and do not hatch until the following 



