1 1 8 Life and Immortality. 



this agreeable occupation, not wishing to leave their victim, 

 they fly away with it to a place of uninterrupted security, 

 but they are unable to carry a heavy burden to any great 

 distance. 



They are true children of the earth. The eggs are laid 

 in the earth, and in the earth the grubs are hatched, and in 

 the earth they spend their days, and in the earth they 

 prepare their shrouds, and, wrapped therein, sleep their 

 pupa-sleep through the long, dreary winter, and with the 

 returning warmth of spring crawl out of their earthy chambers 

 to run and sport on earth, seldom using their new-formed 

 wings to fly away from their beloved mother. 



The grubs are hideous hunchbacks, but possessed of 

 brains and stomach. They live in the same localities as 

 their parents, the anxious mother, with wise precision, 

 having carefully deposited her eggs where food would be 

 readily attainable by her children. Have you a desire to 

 examine a larva ? There is a hole that has been made by 

 one of these creatures. Place down into it a small straw or 

 a bit of fine twig. The cranky little hermit, who is always 

 wide-awake, resists most fiercely such unprovoked insolence, 

 and instantly seeks, by the aid of his broad, expansive head, 

 to eject the intruding object. Now is your time. When he 

 shows himself, quickly seize him with your fingers. You 

 will find him a perfect Daniel Quilp, with head enormous, 

 flat, metallic in color and armed with long, curved jaws. 

 His legs are six in number, and on the back, half-way 

 between the legs and tail, are two curious, odd-looking 

 tubercles, each terminating in a pair of recurved hooks. The 

 head and first body-division are horny, the rest of the creature 

 being soft and very sensitive. 



While the larval Cicindela has all the desire for slaughter 

 which his parents manifest, yet his delicate skin, long body 

 and stubby legs not only prevent him from chasing prey, 

 but also from attempting a struggle with an insect of any 

 size ; nevertheless this imperfectly armed creature manages 



