Crickets also have courting fights, but perhaps for a different reason: the feebleness of their offensive weapons, and the solidity of their armour. There is, however, a winner and loser. The loser decamps, the conqueror sings. Then he shines himself, stamps, seems nervous. Fabre says that emotion often renders him mute; his elytra (wing-shells) shake without giving a sound. The female cricket, witness of the duel, runs to hide under a leaf as soon as it is over. "She draws back the curtain a little, and looks out, and wants to be seen." After this play, she shows herself completely, the cricket rushes forward, makes a half-turn, rears up and slides under her belly. The work finished, he gets away as fast as possible, for we are before an enigmatic orthopter, the female is quite ready to eat him. It is the male's song which attracts the female cricket. When she hears it, she listens, takes her bearings, obeys the call. It is the same with cicadas, even though the two sexes usually live side by side. By imitating the sound of the male, one can deceive the females and make them come to one. Sometimes sight, sometimes smell guides the male. Many hymenoptera, furnished with a powerful visual organ keep watch for the females, spying the vicinity. Thus also many day butterflies. When the male notices a female, he pursues, but in order to get in front of her, to be seen, and he seems to tempt her with slow waving of his wings. This display lasts often quite a long time. Finally their antennæ touch, their wings stroke each other, and they fly off in company. The coupling often takes place in the air; thus among pierides. In certain species, bombyx for example, the females are heavy and even aptera, the male who is in contrast lively, fecundates several, going from one to the other, which is doubtless what gives butterflies their reputation for inconstancy. They live too short a time to deserve it: many born in the morning do not see the next day's sun. One might rather make them a symbol for pure thought. There are some who do not eat, and among those who do not eat there are some whom nature has vowed to virginity. Hermaphrodites of a singular sort, male on the right side, female on the left, they seem to be two sexual halves welded together along the medial line. The organs whose centre is cut by this line are but demi-organs good for nothing save the entertainment of observers. Hybrid butterflies, produced by crossing of two species, are not very rare; they also are incapable of reproduction.