THE GOLDEN GARDENER.— COURTSHIP 115 



enlarges, and the viscera are removed and devoured by 

 the matron, who empties the carapace, her head buried 

 in the body of her late companion. The legs of the 

 miserable victim tremble, announcing the end. The 

 murderess takes no notice ; she continues to rummage as 

 far as she can reach for the narrowing of the thorax. 

 Nothing is left but the closed boat-shaped wing-covers 

 and the fore parts of the body. The empty shell is left 

 lying on the scene of the tragedy. 



In this way must have perished the beetles — always 

 males — whose remains I find in the cage from time to 

 time ; thus the survivors also will perish. Between the 

 middle of June and the ist of August the inhabitants 

 of the cage, twenty-five in number at the outsec, are 

 reduced to five, all of whom are females. All the males, 

 to the number of twenty, have disappeared, eviscerated 

 and completely emptied. And by whom ? Apparently 

 by the females. 



That this is the case is attested in the first place by 

 the two assaults of which I was perchance the witness ; 

 on two occasions, in broad daylight, I saw the female 

 devouring the male, having opened the abdomen under 

 the wing-covers, or having at least attempted to do so. 

 As for the rest of the massacres, although direct observa 

 tion was lacking, I had one very valuable piece of 

 evidence. As we have seen, the victim does not retaliate, 

 does not defend himself, but simply tries to escape by 

 pulling himself away. 



If it were a matter of an ordinary fight, a conflict 

 such as might arise in the struggle for life, the creature 

 attacked would obviously retaliate, since he is perfectly 

 well able to do so ; in an ordinary conflict he would 



