The Simulation of Death 



And this butcher of the Pimeliae and even 

 occasionally of the Sacred Beetles, this bully 

 whom no danger threatens, is supposed to be 

 such a coward as to sham death on the slight- 

 est alarm! I take the liberty of doubting 

 this more and more. 



I am confirmed in my doubts by the 

 Smooth-skinned Scarites (S. lavigatus, 

 FAB.), a denizen of the same shores. The 

 first insect is a giant; the second, by com- 

 parison, is a dwarf. Otherwise he displays 

 the same shape, the same jet-black costume, 

 the same armour, the same habits of bri- 

 gandage. Well, the Smooth-skinned Scar- 

 ites, in spite of his weakness and his small- 

 ness, is almost ignorant of the trick of pre- 

 tending to be dead. When molested for a 

 moment and then turned on his back, he at 

 once picks himself up and flees. I can hardly 

 obtain a few seconds' immobility; once only, 

 daunted by my obstinacy, the dwarf remains 

 motionless for a quarter of an hour. 



How different from the giant, motionless 

 the moment that he is thrown upon his back, 

 sometimes picking himself up only after an 

 hour of inaction ! It is the reverse of what 

 ought to happen, if the apparent death were 

 really a defensive ruse. The giant, confi- 

 dent in his strength, should disdain this 

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