The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



hind-quarters, which act as a lever and push 

 the round belly forwards. The motion re- 

 minds you of a cripple sitting in a bowl. 



The grubs emerging from any one group of 

 eggs at once begin to browse, each beside the 

 empty skin of its egg. Here, singly, they 

 nibble and dig themselves a little pit in the 

 thickness of the leaf, while sparing the cuticle 

 of the opposite surface. This leaves a trans- 

 lucent floor, a support which enables them to 

 consume the walls of the excavation without 

 risking a fall. 



Seeking for better pasture, they move 

 lazily on. I see them scattered at random; 

 a few of them are grouped in the same 

 trench; but I never see them browsing eco- 

 nomically abreast as Reaumur relates. 

 There is no order, no understanding between 

 messmates, contemporaries though they be 

 and all sprung from the same row of eggs. 

 Nor is any heed paid to economy: the lily is 

 so generous ! 



Meanwhile, the paunch swells and the in- 

 testine labours. Here we are ! I see the 

 first bit of the overcoat evacuated. As is 

 natural in extreme infancy, it is liquid and 

 there is not much of it. The scanty flow is 

 used all the same and is laid methodically, 

 right at the far end of the back. Let the 

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