CHAPTER IX 



THE MANTIS: HER HATCHING 



THE eggs of the Praying Mantis usually 

 hatch in bright sunshine, at about ten 

 o'clock on a mid- June morning. The median 

 band or exit-zone is the only portion of the 

 nest that affords an outlet to the youngsters. 

 From under each scale of that zone we 

 see slowly appearing a blunt, transparent 

 protuberance, followed by two large black 

 specks, which are the eyes. Softly the new- 

 born grub slips under the thin plate and half- 

 releases itself. Is it the little Mantis in his 

 larval forrn^ so nearly allied to that of the 

 adult? Not yet. It is a transition organism. 

 The head is opalescent, blunt, swollen, with 

 palpitations caused by the flow of the blood. 

 The rest is tinted reddish-yellow. It is quite 

 easy to distinguish, under a general overall, 

 the large black eyes clouded by the veil that 

 covers them, the mouth-parts flattened 

 against the chest, the legs plastered to the 

 170 



