The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



up and scatter in all directions on the white 

 petals of the circumference, running over 

 them from one end to the other with all the 

 speed which the smallness of their size per- 

 mits. On reaching the extreme end of the 

 petals, they fasten to it either with their 

 caudal appendages, or perhaps with a sticky 

 substance similar to that furnished by the 

 anal button of the Sitares; and, with their 

 bodies hanging outside and their six legs 

 free, they bend about in every direction and 

 stretch as far out as they can, as though 

 striving to touch an object out of their reach. 

 If nothing offers for them to seize upon, 

 after a few vain attempts they regain the 

 centre of the flower and soon resume their 

 immobility. 



But, if we place near them any object 

 whatever, they do not fail to catch on to it 

 with surprising agility. A blade of grass, 

 a bit of straw, the handle of my tweezers 

 which I hold out to them: they accept any- 

 thing in their eagerness to quit the provisional 

 shelter of the flower. It is true that, after 

 finding themselves on these inanimate ob- 

 jects, they soon recognize that they have gone 

 astray, as we see by their bustling move- 

 ments to and fro and their tendency to go 

 back to the flower if there still be time. 



