The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



prey and the other turns every morsel of his 

 to account, thanks to a preliminary lique- 

 faction. 



And this is done with exquisite precision, 

 though the equilibrium is sometimes anything 

 but steady. My rearing-glasses supply me 

 with magnificent examples. Crawling up 

 the sides, the Snails imprisoned in my appa- 

 ratus sometimes reach the top, which is closed 

 with a glass pane, and fix themselves to it 

 by means of a speck of glair. This is a mere 

 temporary halt, in which the mollusc is 

 miserly with its adhesive product, and the 

 merest shake is enough to loosen the shell and 

 send it to the bottom of the jar. 



Now it is not unusual for the Glow-worm 

 to hoist himself to the top, with the help of a 

 certain climbing-organ that makes up for his 

 weak legs. He selects his quarry, makes a 

 minute inspection of it to find an entrance- 

 slit, nibbles it a little, renders it insensible 

 and, without delay, proceeds to prepare the 

 gruel which he will consume for days on end. 



When he leaves the table, the shell is 

 found to be absolutely empty; and yet this 

 shell, which was fixed to the glass by a very 

 faint stickiness, has not come loose, has not 

 even shifted its position in the smallest 

 degree : without any protest from the hermit 

 14 



