Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1889-08-23
EGGS or INSECTS.


some like pyramid, and some like
flask.
The egg of tho gnat, for instance,
may be compared, in shape, to that OF
powder-fask. and the mother gnat
lays about three hundred ut time.
Now, each egg. by itself. would sink to
the bottom of tho water; yet the gnat
puts Il } whole three hundred to-
gethcr in the form of little boat.
and in such a way that they will all
swim on the surface of tho waite and
q very curious way she has OF manug-
ing this.
Like other insects, the gnat has six
legs. Four of these (he four 70 G.
legs) she fastcns to Il floating leaf, or
to the side of bucket. if she is on
the water contained in q bucket. Her
body is thus held level with the water,
except the last ring of her abdomen,
which is n little raised. This being
done, she begins to make use of her
other two legs Cor hind legs). and
crosses them i1rths shape of the letter
X. The open part of this x, next to
ing. to support the eggs she lays, I'M
til tho boat is formed. Each egg,
when laid, is covered with a kind of
glue; and the gnat holds the first laid
egg in the angle of the X until the
second egg is laid by its side, and
glued to it; she then CLUES another
egg to its other side. All these stick
togcthc.' thus: :.
making q kind of triangle, or figure OF
three, and this is the beginning of the
boat. Thus she goes on, piiing egg
upon egg, always keeping the boat in
proper shape by her useful hind legs.
AS tho boat grows in size she pushes
IT from her by degrees, still adding TO
the unfinished end next TO her body.
When the boat is half butt her hind
legs arc stretched out thus:
The x, or cross form, is no longer
wanted, and she holds up the boat as
clcvcrly us if it were dono with two
outstretchcd arms.
The boat is at length completed,
water-tight. For, though it Is very
small and delicate, yet no tossing Of
tho waves will sink it; and nothing can
fill it with water, or turn IL upside
down. In fact, the gluo with which it
is covered prevents it from ever
being wet. Even if tho boat be pushed
down to tho bottom of tho wafer, up
it comes again quite dry; so that il is
better than the pest life-boat that has
ever yet been invented.
The eggs Of insects are not, like
those Of birds, always smooth, but
are sometimes ribbed, and sometimes
tiled, or otherwise sculpturcd or
carved on the outside.
TEo mother insects usually dying
before their eggs arc Matched do not
sit upon them like birds except in
the singular instance of The carwig,
which appears to attend moro to
| shifting the eggs about to places where
| they may receive moisture than to
Matching them by covering them. Ants
! shift thoi' eggs acco ding to the
; changes Of the day and n ght, and also
! Of the wcatl CT, Placing Thorn near tho
surface Of their nests when IL is warm
and dry, and dcop down when it is
! cold or wet.
| In consequence Of being exposed to
the samo temperature, all tho eggs OF
any particular species, in any given
district, arc hatchcd exactly ut tho
: same timo. or at most within q few
days; and when such eggs arc numer-
: Gus an immense number Of catCrpiiars
! make their appearance al ut once on
! plants ana bushes, IN give rise 10 tho
. notion that they arc brought b. wind.
or generated bywhat, is called blighting
weather, though this il aj absurd rs
it would be to say the wind could
bring 81 flock Of cattle. or that the
blight could generate n flight Of spar
rows or rocks without eggs to hatch
thcm from.
l.. BY looking carefully on the bark OF
ro8o or currant bushes, or on the back
IL