nd
the Great Peacock moth, for example, would fall an easy prey to the
beetle were it not that at the first bite of the assailant the intended
victim, by a contortion of its powerful flanks, sends the former
flying. After several attacks, all of which end by the beetle being
flung back to some considerable distance, the insect regretfully
abandons his prey. I have kept two strong and lively caterpillars for a
fortnight in the cage of my golden beetles, and nothing more serious
occurred. The trick of the suddenly extended posterior was too much for
the ferocious mandibles.

The chief utility of the Golden Gardener lies in its extermination of
all caterpillars that are not too powerful to attack. It has one
limitation, however: it is not a climber. It hunts on the ground; never
in the foliage overhead. I have never seen it exploring the twigs of
even the smallest of bushes. When caged it pays no attention to the most
enticing caterpillars if the latter take refuge in a tuft of thyme, at a
few inches above the ground. This is a great pity. If only the beetle
could climb how rapidly three or four would rid our cabbages of that
grievous pest, the larva of the white cabbage butterfly! Alas! the best
have always some failing, some vice.

To exterminate caterpillars: that is the true vocation of the Golden
Gardener. It is annoying that it can give us but little or no assistance
in ridding us of another plague of the kitchen-garden: the snail. The
slime of the snail is offensive to the beetle; it is safe from the
latter unless crippled, half crushed, or projecting from the shell. Its
relatives, however, do not share this dislike. The horny Procrustes, the
great Scarabicus, entirely black and larger than the Carabus, attacks
the snail most valiantly, and empties its shell to the bottom, in spite
of the desperate secretion of slime. It is a pity that the Procrustes is
not more frequently found in our gardens; it would be an excellent
gardener's assistant.

CHAPTER IX

THE GOLDEN GARDENER--COURTSHIP

It is generally recognized that the Carabus auratus is an active
exterminator of caterpillars; on this account in particular it deserves
its title of Gardener Beetle; it is the vigilant policeman of our
kitchen-gardens, our flower-beds and herbaceous borders. If my inquiries
add nothing to its established reputation in this respect, they will
nevertheless, in the following pages, show the insect in a light as yet
unsuspe