710 MR. c. J. c. pool: 



opening along tlie centre of the outer surface, eacli egg-cell being 

 protected by a Hap or door. The young emerge in a cluster and 

 on reaching the exterior they remain suspended by threads 

 or tubes for from 3 to 5 days. During this period they are 

 incapable of seizing other insects or of feeding in the ordinary 

 way, and yet they obtain sufficient nourishment to increase their 

 size very considerably within a week. I have observed this de- 

 velopment upon several occasions, and it is my opinion that we 

 must regard the egg-case as a kind of feeding-bottle capable of 

 supplying the young Mantids with liquid food, absorbed through 

 the threads or tubes by which they are suspended until the first 

 moult. After this important event they are active and are at 

 last capable of an independent existence. To test my " feeding- 

 bottle" theory 1 have on several occasions severed the con- 

 nection between the young larva and the egg-case. The result 

 was the same every time, and the creature died without further 

 development. 



I have examined several cases from which the young had 

 emerged, and found that they all contained fluid matter which 

 might form the necessary food, probably with the assistance of 

 I'ain or dew. 



The specimen referred to in a previous paper (P. Z. S. 1915, 

 p. 289) lived from 6th July, 1914, until 24th September, 1915. 

 On 19th August, 1915, it fractured a front leg, a mishap which 

 reduced its chances of seizing a meal. Upon the third day 

 following the accident, the Mantid surprised me by devouring 

 the offending and still unsevered limb, after which it appeared 

 to revive its interest in life by depositing an egg-mass, the 

 eighth in its lifetime in the Society's Gardens. It died shortly 

 after this event, having completed nearly fifteen months of 

 active life. 



Sphodromantis gastrica. 



An egg-mass from Pretoria produced some young Mantids on 

 28th May, 1915. The majority of these died in the earlier 

 stages. One fine female specimen, having devoured a number 

 of her own kind and an abundance of other insect-food, arrived 

 at maturity and developed her wings on October 18th, 1915, 

 having occupied nearly five months in the process. This speci- 

 men is still alive and healthy, her food consisting principally of 

 stick-insects. A few egg-masses produced numerous small 

 Parasitic Hymenoptera (Chalcids) new to science, which when 

 described will form the subject of another paper. 



COLEOPTEKA. 

 D E R M E S T I D ^. 



Thaumaglossa himaculata Arrow. 



Some Mantid egg-masses received from Pretoria in May 1915 

 were found to be inhabited by Coleopterous larvte much resembling 



