The Glow- Worm and Other Beetles 



ter way of preserving fodder; but it possesses 

 one drawback: to reach the stack of food, 

 the grub has first to open a passage through 

 the floor of its chamber. Instead of the pap 

 called for by its weakly stomach, it begins by 

 finding a brick to chew. 



The rude task would be avoided if the 

 egg lay directly on top of the victuals, inside 

 the case itself. Here our logic is at fault: 

 it forgets an essential point, which the insect 

 is careful not to disregard. The germ 

 breathes. Its development requires air; and 

 the perfectly-closed clay urn does not allow 

 any air to enter. The grub has to be born 

 outside the pot. 



Agreed. But, in the matter of breathing, 

 the egg is no better off for being shut up, on 

 top of the provisions, in a clay casket quite 

 as air-tight as the jar itself. Examine the 

 thing more closely, however, and you will 

 receive a satisfactory reply. The walls of 

 the hatching-chamber are carefully glazed in- 

 side. The mother has taken meticulous 

 pains to give them a stucco-like finish. The 

 vaulted ceiling alone is rugged, because the 

 building-tool now works from the outside and 

 is unable to reach the inner surface of the lid 

 and smooth it. Moreover, in the centre of 

 this curved and embossed ceiling, a small 

 248 



