Living Artillery. 113 
alarmed, Carabus desists from the attack, and backs slowly 
away from the tiny blue smoke, while Brachinus, in the con- 
fusion that ensues, escapes to some place of security for rest 
and protection. 
Most skilfully has the artist delineated the scene. Cara- 
bus serratus, the pursuing beetle, is chasing the Bombardier, 
and has nearly effected his capture, when, all of a sudden, a 
discharge of artillery has stopped the pursuit, under cover 
of which the Bombardier will make off. Meanwhile the 
Carabus, exchanging his rapid advance for a retreat quite as 
rapid, throws back his antenne, a sign of his defeat, and 
skulks away to recover his wonted self-possession. 
The volatile fluid, which produces such curious effects, is 
secreted in a small sac just within the end of the abdomen. 
Not only is it capable of repelling the larger beetles by its 
explosion and cloud of blue vapor, but it is also powerful 
enough to discolor the human skin, as many who have cap- 
tured Bombardier Beetles by the hand know only too well. 
Should the fluid get within the eyelids, the pain and irritation 
produced are very distressing. Some years ago the writer, 
while searching for carabi underneath stones and in creviced 
rocks, met for the first time with Brachinus, but was ignorant 
as a child of his obnoxious property. Placing a little fellow 
upon his hand for close examination, he soon experienced a 
burning and painful sensation of the ball of the eye, but did 
not for a long while attribute the cause to a discharge from 
the Beetle. Repeated investigations at very short ranges by 
means of a microscope were attended with similar results, 
till eventually an inflammation of the visual organs set in, 
accompanied by a blurring of the sight, which debarred him 
from reading and study for nearly a fortnight. One learns 
wisdom by experience, and the wisdom thus acquired serves 
for a lifetime. 
Even Brachinus has learned by experience, doubtless, to 
be economical in the use of his resources. The whole of 
the contents of his tiny magazine are not ejected at one 
