FABRE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



after a meal, the Glow-worm passes and repasses this 

 brush over his head and sides and his whole body, a per- 

 formance made possible by the flexibility of his spine. 

 This is done point by point, from one end of the body 

 to the other, with a scrupulous care that proves the great 

 interest he takes in the operation. At first one may 

 wonder why he should dust and polish himself so care- 

 fully. But no doubt, by the time he has turned the Snail 

 into gruel inside the shell and has then spent several 

 days in eating the result of his labours, a wash and brush- 

 up is not amiss. 



Ill 



HIS LAMP 



If the Glow-worm possessed no other talent than that 

 of chloroforming his prey by means of a few tweaks as 

 gentle as kisses, he would be unknown to the world in 

 general. But he also knows how to light himself like 

 a lantern. He shines ; which is an excellent manner of 

 becoming famous. 



In the case of the female Glow-worm the lighting- 

 apparatus occupies the last three divisions of the body. 

 On each of the first two it takes the form, on the under 

 surface, of a wide belt of light; on the third division 

 or segment the bright part is much smaller, and consists 



[64] 



