More Beetles 



I am shocked by the amount of eating which 

 my gormandizers have done in the course of 

 their lives; it can be measured by the 

 bowlful. 



The Cetonia-larva is worth attention from 

 another point of view. It is a corpulent 

 grub, an inch long, with a convex back and 

 a flat belly. The dorsal surface is wrinkled 

 with thick folds, on which the sparse hairs 

 stand erect like the bristles of a brush; the 

 ventral surface is smooth, covered with a 

 fine skin,. through which the ample wallet of 

 ordure shows as a brown patch. The legs 

 are very well-shaped, but are small, feeble 

 and out of proportion to the rest of the 

 body. 



The creature is given to coiling itself into 

 a closed ring. This is a posture of repose, 

 or rather of anxiety and defence. At such 

 times the living coil contracts so violently 

 that we fear to see it burst open and void its 

 entrails when we seek to unroll it by force. 

 When no longer molested, the grub unrolls 

 itself, straightens out and makes haste to 

 escape. 



Then a surprise awaits us. If placed 

 upon the table, the harassed creature travels 

 on its back with its legs in the air, inactive. 

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