The Giant Scarites 



To see him so richly adorned, who would 

 not wish to find him a fine subject for in- 

 vestigation, one worthy of history, a subject 

 such as humbler natures provide with lavish 

 generosity? From this ferocious ransacker 

 of entrails we expect nothing of the kind. 

 His art is that of slaying. 



We may without trouble observe him at his 

 bandit's work. I rear him in a large breed- 

 ing-cage on a layer of fresh sand. A few 

 potsherds scattered about the surface enable 

 him to take shelter beneath the rocks; a tuft 

 of grass planted in the centre makes a grove 

 and enlivens the establishment. 



Three species compose the population: the 

 common Jardiniere, or Golden Beetle, the 

 usual inmate of our gardens; Procustes 

 coriaceus, the sombre and powerful explorer 

 of the grassy thickets at the foot of walls; 

 and the rare Purple Carabus, who trims the 

 ebony of his wing-cases with metallic violet. 

 I feed them on Snails, after partly removing 

 the shell. 



Hidden at first promiscuously under the 

 potsherds, the Carabi make a rush for the 

 wretched Snail, who, in his despair, alter- 

 nately puts out and withdraws his horns. 

 Three of them at a time, then four, then five 

 begin by devouring the edge of his mantle, 



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