The Gold Beetles: Their Food 



over the wet grass, protruding all the fore- 

 part of his body from the shell. The Cara- 

 bus wants cripples, helpless inmates of bro- 

 ken shells; he wants a breach which enables 

 him to bite at a point not liable to slaver. 

 In these circumstances, the "Gardener" can 

 do little to restrain the Snail's misdeeds. 

 When injured by accident, more or less badly 

 crushed, the ravager of our garden stuff 

 would soon die without the Gold Beetle's 

 intervention. 



From time to time, to vary the diet, I feed 

 a piece of butcher's meat to my charges. The 

 Carabi eagerly flock around it, diligently 

 taking up their stand, mincing it into tiny 

 morsels and devouring it. This food, un- 

 known to their race save perhaps in the form 

 of a Mole disembowelled by the peasant's 

 spade, suits them as well as does the cater- 

 pillar. They like any sort of meat, except- 

 ing fish-meat. One day the bill of fare con- 

 sisted of a Sardine. The guzzlers came 

 trotting up, took a few mouthfuls and then 

 withdrew without touching it again. It was 

 too much of a novelty for them. 



I must not forget to mention that the cage 

 is provided with a drinking-trough, that is 

 to say, a saucer full of water. The Gold 

 297 



