The Life of the Grasshopper 



where: the slippery sides of the glass 

 prevent this. Under these conditions, the 

 captive expires without trying to transform 

 itself. I have known exceptions to this mis- 

 erable ending; I have sometimes seen the 

 larva undergo a regular metamorphosis on 

 a layer of sand thanks to peculiarities of 

 equilibrium which were very difficult to dis- 

 tinguish. In the main, when the normal atti- 

 tude or something very near it is impossible, 

 metamorphosis does not take place and the 

 insect succumbs. That is the general rule. 



This result seems to tell us that the larva 

 is capable of opposing the forces which are 

 at work in it when the transformation is at 

 hand. A cabbage-silique, a pea-pod invari- 

 ably burst to set free their seeds. The 

 Cicada-larva, a sort of pod containing, by 

 way of seed, the perfect insect, is able to 

 control its dehiscence, to defer it until a 

 more opportune moment and even to sup- 

 press it altogether in unfavourable circum- 

 stances. Convulsed by the profound revo- 

 lution that takes place in its body on the 

 point of transfiguration, but at the same time 

 warned by instinct that the conditions are 

 not good, the insect makes a desperate re- 

 sistance and dies rather than consent to open. 



48 



