178 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



keeps the next membrane a little way off. These 

 various facts are seen by examining those cells, at the 

 two ends, that contain no eggs : at these places the 

 cellular structure still exists, though in more irregular 

 fashion than in the area of the egg-containing cells. 

 The outer row of cells on each side is quite different 

 in form and never contains any egg." 



The value of these remarkable egg-cases appears to 

 be that the eggs are protected from drought and 

 from any sudden changes of temperature. Though the 

 egg-case just described is a very beautiful structure, 

 Mr. Muir and Dr. Sharp consider that no skill is shown 

 in its production " The operation seems to be more 

 comparable with the action of a machine." The 

 insect cannot see what it is doing, since the egg-case 

 is constructed between the lower surface of the abdomen 

 and the leaf, and it is doubtful if the " brain " (or cerebral 

 ganglia) is concerned in the operation at all. The form- 

 ation of a Mantis egg-case is similarly a purely mechani- 

 cal action, for an Italian observer has noted that a partially 

 decapitated Mantis can still construct its egg-case. 



I have frequently found the egg-cases of the common 

 Oriental species Aspidomorpha miliaris attached to the 

 under sides of leaves of species of Ipomcea, but I have never 

 witnessed their manufacture. There is little doubt that 

 the method is in all essentials the same as that employed 

 by the African species, for in structure and appearance 

 they are very similar. There are eight rows of cells, the 

 four central ones occupied by eggs, and on each side of 

 this core are two rows of empty cells, and at the hind- 

 end of the case are some rather loosely attached 

 membranes which are plainly the rudiments of cells. 



The larvae are whitish and black-spotted, and they 



