More Beetles 



pillar and other favourite dishes alternate in 

 my refectory in more than sufficient quanti- 

 ties. My Gold Beetles therefore had not 

 the excuse of hunger in devouring a brother 

 whose damaged armour lent itself to easy 

 attack. 



Can it be their custom to finish off the 

 wounded and to ransack the stomach of an 

 injured kinsman? Pity is unknown among 

 the insects. At the sight of the desperate 

 struggles of a crippled relation, not one of 

 the same race will stop, not one will try to 

 help him. With carnivorous insects, mat- 

 ters may take an even more tragic turn. 

 Sometimes the passers-by will run up to the 

 invalid. Do they do so in order to assist 

 him? Not at all: they do it to see what he 

 tastes like and, if they find him good, to cure 

 his ills thoroughly by devouring him. 



It is therefore possible that the Carabus 

 with the damaged wing-cases tempted his 

 comrades by the sight of his partly denuded 

 body. They saw in their helpless brother a 

 prey which it was lawful to dissect. But do 

 they respect one another when there is no 

 previous injury? At first sight, everything 

 would seem to show that their relations are 

 very peaceful. There is never any scuffling 

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