NOTED BEACON BEARERS 149 
“ The round white eggs when laid are strewn 
at random on the ground or on a blade of grass. 
Mrs. Glowworm takes no interest in them, for in 
her bosom is no spark of family ties or affection. 
The eggs shine like tiny specks of quicksilver, 
and in a very short time the young are out, each 
with their two little rushlights on their tail. Their 
prey is earthworms and snails, and they have the 
most voracious appetites. At the approach of 
Jack Frost they burrow in the ground and re¬ 
main hidden until the warm days of late spring 
lure them forth. 
“ The glowworm is not actually a worm, by 
the bye, but belongs to the beetle family. None 
but a Fabre or Savarin would ever think of say¬ 
ing to the glowworm: ‘ Show me what you eat 
and I will tell you what you are.’ But the old 
naturalist, knowing that ‘ The data supplied by 
food are the chief of all the documents of life,’ 
canvassed the case thoroughly and set down the 
facts. ‘ In spite of his innocent appearance,’ he 
tells us, ‘ the Lampyris (or lantern-bearer) is 
an eater of flesh, a hunter of game; and he fol¬ 
lows his calling with rare villainy.’ But merci¬ 
fully, too, as we see, for the glowworm adminis¬ 
ters an anaesthetic: he chloroforms his victim be¬ 
fore setting to work to eat him. Furthermore, 
there is included with this strange numbing secre¬ 
tion, which is injected in various little jabs, a sort 
