The Life of the Grasshopper 



I wished to, either out of doors, in my en- 

 closure, where I had deposited in sunny 

 places the nests gathered more or less every- 

 where during my winter leisure, or else in 

 the seclusion of a greenhouse, where I 

 thought, in my simplicity, that I should be 

 better able to protect the budding family. I 

 have witnessed the hatching twenty times if 

 I have once; and I have always beheld a 

 scene of unforgetable carnage. The round- 

 bellied Mantis may procreate germs by the 

 thousands : she will never have enough to 

 cope with the devourers who are destined to 

 decimate the breed from the moment that it 

 leaves the egg. 



The Ants above all are zealous extermina- 

 tors. Daily I surprise their ill-omened 

 visits on my rows of nests. It is vain for me 

 to intervene, however seriously; their assi- 

 duity never slackens. They seldom succeed 

 in making a breach in the fortress: that is 

 too difficult; but, greedy of the dainty flesh 

 in course of formation inside, they await a 

 favourable opportunity, they lie in wait for 

 the exit. 



Despite my daily watchfulness, they are 

 there the moment that the young Mantes ap- 

 pear. They grab them by the abdomen, pull 

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