Some Anomalies 



A tiny claw the less, though a serious busi- 

 ness where matters of principle are con- 

 cerned, is after all a detail of no great ma- 

 terial value; one needs a lens to perceive the 

 irregularity. But here is something that the 

 eye can see without the aid of the magnify- 

 ing-glass. 



A Locust from the green slopes of the 

 Alps, Pezzotettyx pedestris^^ who dwells on 

 the higher ridges of Mont Ventoux,^ renoun- 

 ces her right to wings of any kind; she 

 reaches the adult stage while preserving the 

 larval formation. The approach of the wed- 

 ding-day niakes her a little handsomer, adds 

 a touch of coral-red to her sturdy thighs and 

 of sky-blue to her shanks ; but there all pro- 

 gress stops. She becomes ripe for marriage 

 and maternity without acquiring the power of 

 flying which the other Acridians possess in 

 addition to that of leaping. 



Among the hoppers, all endowed with 

 wings and wing-cases, she remains a clumsy 

 pedestrian, as her Latin affix, pedestris, in- 

 forms us. Nevertheless, the cripple bears 



1 The Life of the Grasshopper: chap. xvii. — Transla- 

 tor's Note. 



2 The highest mountain in the neighbourhood of Serig- 

 nan; 6,268 feet. Cf. Th£ Hunting Wasps: by J. Henri 

 Fabre, translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: 

 chap. xi. — Translator's Note. 



263 



