466 



Marvels of the Universe 



After a few minutes I laid him and the paper down, and after tlie latter had been quiet suffi- 

 ciently long to justify its release, the beetle let go. He made no attempt to move away, but doggedly 

 waited for the paper to move again. 



When he had rested for about five minutes I laid a leaf-stalk beside him. His blood being up, 

 and apparentlv having laid one enemy low, he was ready for the next, for he instantly pounced on 

 this, taking the end of it iirmlv in his jaws. My touching the other end of it made him very angrv, 

 causing him to get his legs well over it — as the photograph on page 465 shows. 



I then hfted the leaf-stalk, when to my great astonishment he raised his tail and slowly turned 

 half a somersault, and in that attitude he held firmly on, his mandibles bearing his whole weight 

 (see photograph), until I laid him and the leaf-stalk down again. 



An examination of the folded brown paper 

 showed that his mandibles had neatly pierced 

 it. \\"ere those jaws strong enough to pierce 

 the human skin ? To decide that point, after 

 he had rested I offered him the tip of my 

 forefinger. Again he was ready to attack, and 

 time after time he endeavoured to get a grip, 

 but the roundness of the finger prevented this. 

 1 could distinctly feel the nip of his jaws, and 

 the amount of pressure which they exerted 

 was really astonishing. Suddenly I felt that 

 he had accomplished his purpose, w'hen I in- 

 stanth' withdrew my finger. The skin was 

 firmly gripped and he was holding on. He 

 had. howe\er, made a mistake in biting so 

 hard on this occasion, for his wedge-shaped 

 jaws had penetrated only the surface skin ; 

 but so thoroughly had the\- been driven in 

 that he was not strong enough to withdraw 

 them again. 



Ha\ing performed his part so well, I care- 

 fully released him and placed him on the 

 ground. After cleaning up his mouth-parts 



HJJR 



«: 



I-holi, hijl 



J. J. 



i\L. 



and waiting sufficiently long to see that no 



THE 



Already i 

 the approach 

 battle. 



DEVIL'S COACH-HORSE. 



his rambles the ferocious insect has reahzed 

 f a prospective enemy and is prepared to do 



further enemies were abroad, he pursued his 



path on the roadside, quite ready to attack 



his prey in the same fearless manner that he 



had dealt with his supposed foes. He is a 



most useful insect, and should never be killed ; his prey consists of almost any insect with which 



he meets, and a slug or a worm does not come amiss to him ; he will even attack a young toad ; 



also he has ample wings, is a bold flier, and is common throuejhout the British Isles. 



THE WONDERFUL SEA-URCHIN 



BY EDWARD STEP, F.L.S. 



The Sea-Urchin, or Sea-Hog, is so called because it resembles the hedgehog, or urchin, by being 

 covered with protective spines that keep most enemies at a distance. \\'ith a remark to the effect 

 that tliis is a curious correspondence between a land-beast and a sea-creature, the average person 



