The boring instrument, consisting of a double saw, alternately rises and sinks in the rind of the twig with a gentle, almost imperceptible movement.
Nothing in particular occurs during the process of laying the eggs.

The insect is motionless, and hardly ten minutes elapse between the first cut of the ovipositor and the filling of the egg-chamber with eggs.
The ovipositor is then withdrawn with methodical deliberation, in order that it may not be strained or bent.

The egg-chamber closes of its own accord as the woody fibres which have been displaced return to their position, and the Cigale climbs a little higher, moving upwards in a straight line, by about the length of its ovipositor.

It then makes another puncture and a fresh chamber for another ten or twelve eggs.

In this way it scales the twig from bottom to top.
These facts being understood, we are able to explain the remarkable arrangement of the eggs.