MINUTES 



Having not yet had an opportunity of fee- 

 ing any of them in the act of breaking the 

 fhell of the nidus, I began to apprehend that 

 ;he perforation was made Ipy a fimple folmion 

 of the leaf, by means of the glutinous moi- 

 fture with which their heads appear to be co- 

 vered (and which, no doubt, gives the leaf its 

 gloffy tranfparency) j for in the two ac"ls of ex- 

 clufion which I had feen, the head appeared 

 pafllve, with its upper part protuberant, and 

 its mouth within the nidus ; until bringing its 

 mouth and two of its foremoft feet without the 

 orifice, it began to ftruggle, and foon made 

 its efcape. But, calling my eye on a neigh- 

 bouring nidus, I faw a faint working within it, 

 and prefently faw its coat pierced by a tooth, 

 or fome other appendage of the mouth of the 

 animal ; which was obvioufly in the act of 

 eating its way out. 



Having made a perforation large enough for 

 its purpofe, it placed its head in the pofition, 

 above described, as if to reft itfelf after the 

 fatigue it had undergone in making the door- 

 way. In a few minutes it began to ftruggle, 

 ai>d having got its fore legs without the ori- 

 fice, crept out with eafe. 



I afterwards obferved two more perform the 

 fame operation, in the fame manner, and mi- 



nuted 



