The Simulation of Death 



And this butcher of the Pimeliae and even 

 occasionally of the Sacred Beetles, this bully 

 whom no danger threatens, is supposed to be 

 such a coward as to sham death on the slight- 

 est alarm ! I take the liberty of doubting 

 this more and more. 



I am confirmed in my doubts by the 

 Smooth-skinned Scarites (S. lavigatus, 

 FAB.), a denizen of the same shores. The 

 first insect is a giant; the second, by com- 

 parison, is a dwarf. Otherwise he displays 

 the same shape, the same jet-black costume, 

 the same armour, the same habits of bri- 

 gandage. Well, the Smooth-skinned Scar- 

 ites, in spite of his weakness and his small- 

 ness, is almost ignorant of the trick of pre- 

 tending to be dead. When molested for a 

 moment and then turned on his back, he at 

 once picks himself up and flees. I can hardly 

 obtain a few seconds' immobility; once only, 

 daunted by my obstinacy, the dwarf remains 

 motionless for a quarter of an hour. 



How different from the giant, motionless 

 the moment that he is thrown upon his back, 

 sometimes picking himself up only after an 

 hour of inaction! It is the reverse of what 

 ought to happen, if the apparent death were 

 really a defensive ruse. The giant, confi- 

 dent in his strength, should disdain this 

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