More Beetles 



It is not always a free choice on his part. 

 He prefers larger mouthfuls when available. 

 He lives mainly on Ants because they abound 

 in the enclosure, whereas the other insects 

 running on the surface of the ground are 

 comparatively scarce. If occasionally the 

 glutton finds more sumptuous fare, he appre- 

 ciates the feast all the more highly. 



In evidence of these unusual banquets, I 

 will mention certain dejecta found in the en- 

 closure and composed almost entirely of 

 Gold Beetles' wing-cases. The remainder of 

 the product, the paste joining the golden 

 scales together, consisted of Ants' heads, the 

 authentic work of the consumer. So the 

 Toad feeds on Carabi when he has the op- 

 portunity. He, our garden helper, robs us 

 of another helper no less valuable. The 

 useful, from our point of view, destroys the 

 useful: a little lesson which should modify 

 our ingenuous belief that all things are cre- 

 ated for our service. 



There is worse to come. The Gold Beetle, 

 the policeman who, in our gardens, keeps an 

 eye on the misdeeds of the caterpillar and 

 the Slug, is guilty of the vice of cannibalism. 

 One day, in the shadow of the plane-trees 

 outside my door, I see one passing very 

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