1 1 6 Life and Immortality. 



commonest species the Cicindela vulgaris of naturalists. 

 Go for that one. He sees you as quickly as you see him, 

 and is off for a few yards, but suddenly drops to the grass 

 from his flight, but always with his head towards the enemy. 

 Again and again you start him, but at last, tiring of the chase, 

 he takes a longer flight that usual. This is a ruse of his, 

 and knowing what it means, you hurry back to where you 

 first saw him in time to see him all unsuspectingly alight, 

 and you easily take him captive in your toils. Now that you 

 have him secure, examine him closely. Watch how savagely 

 he moves his mandibles and tries to pinch. You need not 

 be afraid, for his bite is inoffensive and not very painful. You 

 measure with the eye his size, and you rightly decide that he 

 is not much over an inch in length, and scarcely one-fourth 

 in breadth. His head you will find very large and brainy, 

 his jaws powerful and long and curved, two scimitar-like 

 weapons, which are admirably fitted for cutting and carving 

 the quivering bodies of his prey. His eleven-jointed antennae 

 are long, slender and graceful. In color his back is dull 

 purple, but beneath he is resplendent in a bright brassy green. 

 Three whitish, irregular bands adorn his wing-covers. His 

 legs, long and slender, are just the things on which to hunt 

 the active insects upon which he feeds. 



His next of kin, the Purple Tiger Beetle, is nearly as large 

 as he, and often joins him in company. Beautifully robed in 

 purple he usually is, but sometimes in a greenish garb 

 arrayed. From the outer almost to the inner margin of 

 each wing meanders a reddish line, while lower down a dot, 

 and still another at the farthest tip of the inner border, 

 enhance his beauty. Cold spring days delight him best, and 

 he is often seen when snow is yet upon the ground. 



More beautiful by far than either, and no less active, is 

 Cicindela sex guttata, or the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, whose 

 dress, a brilliant metallic green, flecked with six small silver 

 spots, renders him a pretty sight when you flash the rays of 

 light athwart his burnished armor. Hot, June-like days and 



