The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



corners of her makeshift dwelling, exploring 

 them with her palpi, which she passes every- 

 where. After half an hour of groping and 

 careful investigation, she ends by selecting 

 the horizontal gallery dug in the cork. She 

 thrusts her abdomen into this cavity and, 

 with her head hanging outside, begins her 

 laying. Not until thirty-six hours later was 

 the operation completed; and during this in- 

 credible lapse of time the patient creature re- 

 mained absolutely motionless. 



The eggs are white, oval and very small. 

 They measure barely two-thirds of a milli- 

 metre x in length. They stick together 

 slightly and are piled in a shapeless heap 

 which might be likened to a good-sized pinch 

 of the unripe seeds of some orchid. As for 

 their number, I will admit that it tried my 

 patience to no purpose. I do not, however, 

 believe that I am exaggerating when I esti- 

 mate it as at least two thousand. Here are 

 the data on which I base this figure : the lay- 

 ing, as I have said, lasts thirty-six hours; and 

 my frequent visits to the female working in 

 the cavity in the cork convinced me that there 

 was no perceptible interruption in the suc- 

 cessive emission of the eggs. Now less than 

 a minute elapses between the arrival of one 



1 .026 inch. — Translator's Note. 

 42 



