The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



some sooner, some later, abandon the in- 

 soluble mechanical problem: to push, ever 

 so little, the movable support and so to un- 

 hook the coveted carcase. 



Curious reasoners, in faith ! If, just now, 

 they had a lucid idea of the mutual relations 

 between the tied legs and the suspending 

 peg; if they made the Mouse fall by a rea- 

 soned manoeuvre, whence comes it that the 

 present artifice, no less simple than the first, 

 is to them an insurmountable obstacle? For 

 days and days they work on the body, ex- 

 amining it from head to foot, without no- 

 ticing the movable support, the cause of their 

 mishap. In vain I prolong my watch; I 

 never see a single one of them push the sup- 

 port with his foot or butt it with his head. 



Their defeat is not due to lack of strength. 

 Like the Geotrupes, they are vigorous ex- 

 cavators. When you grasp them firmly in 

 your hand, they slip into the interstices of 

 the fingers and plough up your skin so as 

 to make you quickly loose your hold. With 

 his head, a powerful ploughshare, the Bee- 

 tle might very easily push the ring off its 

 short support. He is not able to do so, be- 

 cause he does not think of it; he does not 

 think of it, because he is devoid of the fac- 

 ulty attributed to him, in order to support 



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