METHOD OF INSERTING THE EO<;S. 
79 
above the twig, the point of her ovipostor is brought to bear on the 
bark at an angle of 45 degrees, and is thrust slowly and repeatedly into 
the bark and wood, the two lateral saws working in alternation. When 
fully inserted the instrument is pried upward by a motion of the abdo- 
men, raising and loosening in this way little fibers of wood which, 
remaining attached, form a sort of covering for the Qgg fissure or nest. 
The cutting normally extends nearly to the pith or about one-twelfth of 
an inch in depth, and is continued until space is made to receive from 
ten to twenty eggs. After preparing the egg nest as described, the 
female moves back to the point of commencement and again thrusts in 
her ovipositor, using the two side pieces as grooves or channels to con- 
vey the eggs into the 
1 .1 ' 
4^1 
■ 
1 
d 
PlG. 33. — Egg nest of the Cicada: a, recent puncture, front view; b, 
same, surface removed to show arrangement of eggs, from above; 
c, same, side view; </. egg cavity exposed after eggs are removed, 
and showing the sculpture left by the ovipositor— all enlarged 
(after RUey). 
twigs, where they are 
placed in pairs, sepa- 
rated by a central 
tongue of woody fiber, 
which has been left 
undisturbed, and 
which is wider at the 
bottom than at the 
top. Two eggs hav- 
ing been inserted in 
the portion of the fis- 
sure first made, the 
ovipositor is with- 
drawn and again in- 
serted, and two more 
eggs are placed in 
line with the first; this operation being continued until the egg nest 
is tilled. A step or two forward is then taken, and after a brief pause 
a new egg nest is begun. About fifteen minutes is occupied in pre- 
paring and filling one of these nests with eggs. 
The above account is substantially correct so far as the superficial 
appearances are concerned. Instead, however, of first making an egg 
not and afterwards tilling it with eggs in pairs, as described, the female 
deposits the row of eggs on one side as she makes the original cutting 
in the bark'. She then moves back. and. swinging a little to one side, 
inserts through the same hole the second row of eggs parallel with the 
first, thus leaving a small bit of undisturbed wood fiber between the 
two rows of eggs. This method of inserting the eggs corresponds to 
that known to be true of allied insects which deposit their eggs in prac- 
tically the same manner, and is confirmed also by the careful observa- 
tions made by Mr. Ira B. Law ton, of Nyack, N. V.. in L 894, and reported 
by Professor Lintner. 1 Mr. Lawton found that the placing of each row 
of eggs occupied a little over twenty minutes, or. for the construction 
'Twelfth Report, [nsects, New York, p 
L>0110— Xo. 11 (j 
