The Mantis: her Hatching 



body from front to back. Altogether, with 

 the exception of the very obvious legs, the 

 whole thing, with its big blunt head, its eyes, 

 its delicate abdominal segmentation and its 

 boatlike shape, reminds us somewhat of the 

 first state of the Cicadae on leaving the egg, 

 a state which is pictured exactly by a tiny, 

 finless fish. 



Here then is a second instance of an or- 

 ganization of very brief duration having as 

 its function to bring into the light of day, 

 through narrow and difficult passes, a micro- 

 scopic creature whose limbs, if free, would, 

 because of their length, be an insurmountable 

 impediment. To enable him to emerge from 

 the exiguous tunnel of his twig, a tunnel 

 bristling with woody fibres and blocked with 

 shells already empty, the Cicada is born 

 swathed in bands and endowed with a boat 

 shape, which is eminently suited to slipping 

 easily through an awkward passage. The 

 young Mantis is exposed to similar difficult- 

 ies. He has to emerge from the depths of 

 the nest through narrow, winding ways, in 

 which full-spread, slender limbs would not be 

 able to find room. The high stilts, the mur- 

 derous harpoons, the delicate antennae, or- 

 gans which will be most useful presently, in 

 171 



