108 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION, 



Waga has already remarked, that although a moist locality is necessary to the health 

 of these animals, it is prejudicial to them at the season of undergoing their changes, 

 and is then even more fatal to them than a very dry one. I am fully satisfied of the 

 correctness of this observation. Deterred by this instinct, the lulus will not deposit 

 her eggs, when in confinement, if the soil be too much moistened, nor if it be allowed 

 to become too dry, while she is particularly careful to exclude them from light, by 

 depositing them in a burrow in the middle of the soil, as far as possible removed from 

 the sides of her prison, if this happen to be a glass vessel. She is also exceedingly 

 anxious to prevent the accession of atmospheric air, and carefully closes the entrance 

 to her burrow. The manner in which she proceeds with her labours is curious. 

 Having excavated a little cylindrical hole to the depth of about an inch, and only just 

 large enough to admit her body, she forms at the bottom of it a little circular cell or 

 chamber, by digging out the soil grain by grain with her mandibles and anterior pair 

 of feet. I have seen her busily employed in this part of her labours. When she has 

 excavated the burrow to its proper depth, she remains for a few minutes with her 

 head and the anterior half or two thirds of her body in the hole, as if resting from 

 her toils, with the posterior part exposed on the surface, to enable her to cling by her 

 feet to its margin, and thus afford her support in bringing up the soil she is removing 

 from the bottom. Having continued in this situation for a few minutes, she again 

 resumes her labours. In about a minute she gradually withdraws herself backwards 

 from the hole, bringing up with her a little pellet of moistened clay, which she holds 

 between her first pair of legs and under surface of the head. As soon as it is brought 

 to the margin of the hole, it is passed backwards by these to the second pair, and 

 so onwards to the next in succession as it reaches them, until it is removed entirely 

 out of the way. She then immediately re-enters the hole, and this operation is 

 repeated many times, until she has excavated a chamber at the bottom sufficient for 

 her purpose. In each instance the pellet of clay is saturated with fluid, which appears 

 to be supplied for the purpose by the large salivary glands of the animal, the chief 

 function of which thus appears to be to furnish a great quantity of solvent fluid, to 

 enable the parent the more easily to excavate the chamber intended for the residence 

 of her future progeny in their most helpless, and, as we shall presently see, almost 

 vegetative condition. Having accomplished this part of her labour she remains for 

 some time at rest, with the greater portion of her body concealed in the burrow, and 

 soon afterwards begins to deposit her eggs. When this is finished she immediately 

 sets about the completion of her labours, by carefully closing up the entrance of the 

 burrow. This she does with clay thoroughly moistened to form a thick paste, which 

 she gently presses into the entrance, and fills up nearly to a level with the surface of 

 the soil, thus not only preventing the intrusion of enemies, but also protecting the 

 eggs from the prejudicial influence of the atmosphere, by exposure to which they 

 quickly perish. 

 When the egg is examined immediately after it has been deposited, it is highly 



