THE WEB OF LIFE 325 



of mud when the tide comes in ; they make a sort of 

 ' preserve ' of a circle, of a yard or so in radius, of which 

 the burrow is the centre. ' Each fiddler ', Mr. Pearse 

 writes, ' researches the mud around his hole for food, and 

 his hand is against every man. He is ever ready to dart 

 into his burrow, and if danger threatens he quickly retreats 

 into this refuge. If one of his fellows approaches too close 

 to his domain, he rushes forth and enters into fierce combat. 

 Each crab makes his hole the centre from which all his 

 activities are conducted, and he treats the approach of 

 any intruder as an unfriendly act '. The plugging of the 

 burrow when the tide comes in serves as a protection 

 against fishes and snakes and other enemies which hunt 

 at the edge of the advancing tide. 



Mr. Pearse points out that several circumstances might 

 be held as favouring the development of some social life, 

 but it is evidently not consistent with the Crustacean con- 

 stitution. The mothers carry the eggs and young for a 

 time, thus having opportunity to start a colony with them. 

 The aggressive ways of the males might enable stronger 

 individuals to gather a number of females about them, 

 but there is nothing of this sort. The fiddlers live in 

 enormous colonies, but there is nothing in the way of 

 combination or co-operation rank individualism obtains 

 throughout. 



The distinctive features of animal societies will become 

 clearer as we consider particular illustrations ; it is enough 

 at the outset to recognize that an animal society is not 

 physically continuous like a colony, and that it is more 

 than a gregarious association. It means a community 

 of separate individuals with more or less of a corporate 

 life, and with the power of acting as a unity. 



