ation obtainable in the cages.

The only Mantis that I was able to observe at the moment of laying her
eggs worked upside-down, clinging to the wire near the top of the cover.
My presence, my magnifying-glass, my investigations did not disturb her
in the least, so absorbed was she in her labours. I was able to lift up
the dome of wire gauze, tilt it, reverse it, turn it over and reverse it
again, without causing the insect to delay her task for a moment. I was
able, with my tweezers, to raise the long wings in order to observe
rather more closely what was taking place beneath them; the Mantis took
absolutely no notice of me. So far all was well; the female did not
move, and lent herself impassively to all the indiscretions of the
observer. Nevertheless, matters did not proceed as I had wished, so
rapid was the operation and so difficult observation.

The end of the abdomen is constantly immersed in a blob of foam, which
does not allow one to grasp the details of the process very clearly.
This foam is of a greyish white, slightly viscous, and almost like
soapsuds. At the moment of its appearance it adheres slightly to the end
of a straw plunged into it. Two minutes later it is solidified and no
longer adheres to the straw. In a short time its consistency is that of
the substance of an old nest.

[Illustration: 1. THE MANTIS DEVOURING THE MALE IN THE ACT OF MATING.

2. THE MANTIS COMPLETING HER NEST.

3. GOLDEN SCARABAEI CUTTING UP A LOB-WORM.]

The foamy mass consists chiefly of air imprisoned in minute bubbles.
This air, which gives the nest a volume very much greater than that of
the abdomen of the Mantis, evidently does not issue from the insect
although the foam appears at the orifice of the genital organs; it is
borrowed from the atmosphere. The Mantis builds more especially with
air, which is eminently adapted to protect the nest against changes
of temperature. She emits a glutinous substance like the liquid
secretion of silk-worms, and with this composition, mixed
instantaneously with the outer air, she produces the foam of which the
nest is constructed.

She whips the secretion as we whip white of egg, in order to make it
rise and stiffen. The extremity of the abdomen opens in a long cleft,
forming two lateral ladles which open and shut with a rapid, incessant
movement, beating the viscous liquid and converting it into foam as it
is secreted. Beside the two oscillating ladles we see the internal
organs ri