The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



excitement, is believed to be shamming dead, 

 lying on its back. The return to activity is 

 announced exactly in the same fashion and 

 in the same order as after the stupefying ef- 

 fect of ether. First the tarsi quiver; then 

 the palpi and antennae wave feebly to and fro. 



If the creature were really shamming, 

 what need would it have of these minute pre- 

 liminaries to the awakening? Once the dan- 

 ger has disappeared, or is deemed to have 

 done so, why does the insect not swiftly get 

 upon its feet, to make off as quickly as pos- 

 sible, instead of dallying with untimely pre- 

 tences? I am quite sure that, once the Bear 

 was gone, the comrade who had shammed 

 dead under the animal's nose did not think 

 of wasting time in stretching himself or rub- 

 bing' his eyes. He jumped up at once and 

 took to his heels. 



And the insect is supposed to carry its cun- 

 ning to the length of counterfeiting resusci- 

 tation down to the least details ! No, no and 

 again no; it would be madness. Those qui- 

 verings of the tarsi, those awakening move- 

 ments of the palpi and antennae are the ob- 

 vious proof of a genuine torpor, now coming 

 to an end, a torpor similar to that induced by 

 ether but less intense; they show that the 

 insect struck motionless by my artifice is not 

 400 



