34 FABRE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



As I have already told you, there is only one part of the 

 nest from which the grub can find an outlet, namely the band 

 of scales round the middle. From under each of these scales 

 one sees slowly appearing a blunt, transparent lump, followed 

 by two large black specks, which are the creature's eyes. 

 The baby grub slips gently under the thin plate and half 

 releases itself. It is reddish yellow, and has a thick, swollen 

 head. Under its outer skin it is quite easy to distinguish the 

 large black eyes, the mouth flattened against the chest, the 

 legs plastered to the body from front to back. With the 

 exception of these legs the whole thing reminds one some- 

 what of the first state of the Cicada on leaving the egg. 



Like the Cicada, the young Mantis finds it necessary to 

 wear an overall when it is coming into the world, for the sake 

 of convenience and safety. It has to emerge from the depths 

 of the nest through narrow, winding ways, in which full-spread 

 slender limbs could not find enough room. The tall stilts, 

 the murderous harpoons, the delicate antennae, would hinder 

 its passage, and indeed make it impossible. The creature 

 therefore appears in swaddling-clothes, and has the shape of 

 a boat. 



When the grub peeps out under the thin scales of its nest 

 its head becomes bigger and bigger, till it looks like a throb- 

 bing blister. The little creature alternately pushes forward 

 and draws back, in its efforts to free itself, and at each move- 

 ment the head grows larger. At last the outer skin bursts at 

 the upper part of the chest, and the grub wriggles and tugs 

 and bends about, determined to throw off its overall. Finally 

 the legs and the long antennae are freed, and a few shakes 

 complete the operation. 



It is a striking sight to see a hundred young Mantes coming 

 from the nest at once. Hardly does one tiny creature show 

 its black eyes under a scale before a swarm of others appears. 

 It is as though a signal passed from one to the other, so swiftly 

 does the hatching spread. Almost in a moment the middle 

 zone of the nest is covered with grubs, who run about fever- 



