CHAPTER V 



THE GLOW-WORM 

 I 



His SURGICAL INSTRUMENT 



FEW insects enjoy more fame than the Glow-worm, 

 the curious little animal who celebrates the joy of 

 life by lighting a lantern at its tail-end. We all 

 know it, at least by name, even if we have not seen 

 it roaming through the grass, like a spark fallen from the full 

 moon. The Greeks of old called it the Bright-tailed, and 

 modern science gives it the name Lampyris. 



As a matter of fact the Lampyris is not a worm at all, 

 not even in general appearance. He has six short legs, which 

 he well knows how to use ; for he is a real gad-about. The 

 male, when he is full-grown, has wing-cases, like the true 

 Beetle that he is. The female is an unattractive creature 

 who knows nothing of the delights of flying, and all her life 

 remains in the larval, or incomplete form. Even at this stage 

 the word ' worm ' is out of place. We French use the phrase 

 ' naked as a worm ' to express the lack of any kind of pro- 

 tection. Now the Lampyris is clothed, that is to say he 

 wears an outer skin that serves as a defence ; and he is, 

 moreover, rather richly coloured. He is dark brown, with 

 pale pink on the chest ; and each segment, or division, of his 

 body is ornamented at the edge with two spots of fairly bright 

 red. A costume like this was never worn by a worm ! 



Nevertheless we will continue to call him the Glow-worm, 

 since it is by that name that he is best known to the world. 



The two most interesting peculiarities about the Glow- 

 as 



