The Gold Beetles: Their Food 



fortnight; and nothing very serious has hap- 

 pened to them. The abrupt intervention of 

 a suddenly lifted rump overawed the feroci- 

 ous mandibles. 



We will award a first good mark to the 

 Gold Beetle, for exterminating any not too 

 powerful caterpillar. The merit is spoilt by 

 one flaw. The insect is not a climber: it 

 hunts on the ground, not in the foliage over- 

 head. I have never seen it explore the twigs 

 of the smallest shrub. In my cages, it pays 

 no attention to the most enticing quarry fixed 

 to a tuft of thyme, a few inches high. This 

 is a great pity. If the insect could only climb 

 and undertake overhead raids, how quickly 

 would a gang of three or four purge the cab- 

 bage of its scourge, the Pieris Caterpillar! 

 The very best always have some defect. 



The Gold Beetle must be given another 

 good mark with reference to Slugs. He 

 feeds on all of them, including even the big- 

 gest, the Grey Slug, flecked with dark spots. 

 The corpulent creature is soon disposed of, 

 when attacked by three or four knackers. 

 They make by choice for that part of the 

 back which is protected by an inner shell, a 

 sort of slab of mother-of-pearl that covers 

 the region of the heart and lung. The stony 

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