THOSE HORRID EARWIGS 131 



enable the insect to shut up the wing with perfect 

 accuracy. 



No. 4 and the subsequent illustrations show 

 us the various stages in the very complicated 

 closing process ; and Mr. Enock has so drawn 

 them for me as to let us follow in detail every 

 step in this won- 

 derful piece of 

 insect jugglery. 

 Cinquevalli him- 

 self does nothing 

 more admirable. 

 To see an ear- 

 wig close her 

 wings is a study 

 in the perfection 

 of Nature's me- 

 chanism. In No. 

 4 itself, which is 

 the first of the 

 series, the rib 

 or stiffener is 

 just slightly de- 

 pressed, SO aS tO NO. 6. A STAGE FURTHER. 



make the tip of 



the wing drop a little. In No. 5, the stiffener 

 bends at the joint in the middle, and thus 

 makes the edge of the wing curl inward like 

 a fan, the pleats folding neatly with the utmost 

 precision. With the stage illustrated in No. 6, 

 the wing begins to flap ; and in No. 7, the first 

 part of it disappears round the corner, while 



