Beautiful spiders—The “Peckham paper”—Spider courtships—Male 289 antics and love-dances—Occasional accidents—Strength of the evidence—The one explanation—Darwin’s last words—His theory established CHAPTER XXIII Web-making spiders—Dangerous wooings—An unkind 307 lady-love—Lizard-eating spiders—Enlightened curiosity—Rival entomologists—Instinct of resignation—A worm-eating spider—Alternative explanation—The dangers of patriotism—Trap-door spiders—Web-flying spiders—Spiders that nearly fly—Spider navigators—The raft and the diving-bell CHAPTER XXIV Aquatic insects—Lyonnet’s water-beetle—A floating cradle—Larva and 320 pupa—An ingenious contrivance—Nothing useless—The imaginary philosopher—How the cradle is made—The mysterious “mast”—Later observation—The giant water-bug—An oppressed husband CHAPTER XXV One remark—Phosphorescent insects—Glow-worms and fire-flies—Fiery 329 courtship—A beetle with three lamps—Travelling by beetle-light—The great lantern-fly controversy—Is it luminous?—Madame Merian’s statement—Contradictory evidence—A Chinese edict—Suggested use of the “lantern”—Confirmation required—Luminous centipedes CHAPTER XXVI Scorpions and suicide—The act proved—Intention 345 probable—Conflicting evidence—Scorpions and cockroaches—Concentrating backwards—Economy of poison—Decorous feeding ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS By Lancelot Speed & Carton Moore Park PAGE FIRE-BEETLES AS LANTERNS Frontispiece 335 ANT-EATER AND WHITE ANT-HEAPS 14 AN INSECT FREEBOOTER AND AN INSECT BEGGAR 42 RIDING ON BEETLE-BACK AND A LIVING SWEET-SHOP 52 A BUCCANEER FLY AND A LEAF-RESEMBLING INSECT 58 A PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS 76 A WASP BEARING OFF A CICADA 100 A LUCK-BRINGING GRASSHOPPER 106 THE HERCULES BEETLE 190 GREAT ANIMALS PURSUED BY DRIVER ANTS 206 DRIVEN OUT BY HORNETS 220 SOLITARY WASPS 228 PROTECTIVE MIMICRY—LEAF-RESEMBLING BUTTERFLIES 256 A DANCING SPIDER, AND A COCKROACH ATTACKING A 294 SCORPION A BIRD-CATCHING SPIDER NET 308