More Beetles 



mouthfuls administered at long intervals, one 

 only reached the adult form. The bad ef- 

 fects of abstinence are far-reaching and the 

 pigmy still feels them. Though the season 

 when the caskets should have split had long 

 gone by, he had made no attempt to free 

 himself. Perhaps he had not the necessary 

 strength. I myself had to break open the 

 cell. 



Now that he is free and revelling in the 

 light, he kicks and struggles and starts run- 

 ning, if I tease him at all; but he prefers to 

 rest. One would think that he was over- 

 whelmed by an insurmountable lassitude. I 

 know how gluttonously the Cetoniae attack 

 fruit at this warm season, gorging themselves 

 upon the sweet pulp. I give my dwarf a 

 piece of juicy fig. He does not touch it, pre- 

 ferring to doze. Is it not yet time for him 

 to eat, after his forcible liberation? Was 

 the recluse intended to spend the winter in 

 his shell before tasting the joys but also risk- 

 ing the dangers of the outer world? It may 

 be so. 



At any rate this curious little creature, the 



small Cetonia, reduced to one-fourth of the 



regulation size, repeats what the Sacred 



Beetle but now taught us in a less conclusive 



252 



