182 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



beneath the surface of the ground. It is stated by one natural- 

 ist that the eggs are placed in cells something like the chambers 

 of the mole-cricket, the cell itself being about an inch and a half 

 deep, and the entrance to it being a nearly 'horizontal tube of 

 earth, coated with a kind of glutinous secretion. Sometimes the 

 eggs themselves are enveloped with this glutinous substance, and 

 are stuck together in masses of determinate shape. South Ameri- 

 ca is peculiarly rich in these egg-masses, many varieties of which 

 may be seen in Mr. Waterton's collection. The young do not at- 

 tain their wings for three years, and during that period are called 

 in Southern Africa by the popular and expressive name of voet- 

 gangers, or foot-goers. 



Before leaving the earth -burro wers, it is necessary to mention 

 the larva of the common May-fly, or Ephemera. Sometimes this 

 larva hides itself under stones, but it often burrows "under the 

 muddy banks, and there constructs a very curious habitation. 

 If a portion of the mud be carefully removed, it will be seen to 

 be perforated by a series of holes, a few being nearly circular, 

 but the greater part oval, the long diameter being horizontal, in 

 order to suit the peculiar shape of the inhabitant. 



These are the habitations of the Ephemera grub ; and if the 

 block of mud be laid open, so as to exhibit longitudinal sections 

 of the holes, the spectator will perceive that each hole is double, 

 the two tubes lying parallel to each other, and being in fact only 

 one tube bent upon itself. 



Mr. J. Rennie, in his "Insect Architecture," mentions a curious 

 modification of these tubes : " In the bank of the stream at Lee, 

 in Kent, we had occasion to take up an old willow stump, which, 

 previous to its being driven into the bank, had been perforated in 

 numerous places by the caterpillar of the goat moth (Cossus ligni- 

 perda). From having been driven among the moist clay, these 

 perforations became filled with it, and the grubs of the Ephemera 

 found them very suitable for their habitations ; for the wood sup- 

 plied a more secure protection than if their galleries had been ex- 

 cavated in the clay. In these holes of the wood we found several 

 empty, and some in which were full-grown grubs." 



Our last example of the earth-burrowing insects is a truly re- 

 markable one. It is scarcely possible to conceive any mode of 

 life more curious than that which is passed by the insect which 



