The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1905-01-12
1T DIES IN DAYLIGHT.
But Cavern BEETLES Are Able to
Move About in Pitch
Dark Homes.

The cavern beetle was first discov
cred 20 years ago in an Austrian cave
the grotto of Adelsberg. One speci'
men only was caught and. though Its
discoverer offered q prize of SIS fol
another, it was IA years before q sec.
ond was found.
Tho cavern beetle has little round
body, long legs and absolutely no eyes
Brought out Of its gloomy haunts into
the light of the sun, it dies almost i'm
mediately. Yet in its pitch-dark home,
far beneath the surface of the earth,
it moves with as great rapidity and
certainty as any of its eyed relatives
on the upper soil.
To make up for its lack Of sight 1t
is provided with antennae OF extraor-
binary length and delicacy. By means
of these it feels its way over the rough
surface of the stone and hunts its prey
other smaller blind insects-with
rapidity and absolute certainty.
The cavern beetle has it's enemies.
The blothrus Ga specimen of scorpion)
and the great eyeless spirit hunt it re-
morselessly. Prince Khevenhuller,
who thoroughly explored these caves
some years ago. describes it as a most
extraordinary sight to watch by the
light of candle scorpion, absolutely
eyeless, hunting beetle, equally
blind, along the cavern wall. Although
the beetle was several feet in front of
the scorpion and divided from it by a
assure in the rock, yet the scorpion
tracked 1t with absolute and almost
appalling certainty.
The spider found In these caves is
Of a lovely ivory white and is able.
like other insects which inhabit the
same subterranean depths. to run
rapidly and find its way with as pos
tive certainty as If it had eyes and
light to use them. Like several of the
Others. 1t, too, perishes If taken out
Of the cave. Sunlight seems to wither
and shrivel up these insects, just a
II they had been placed in front of q
lot fire.
Yet, in spite of this fact, 1t is known
that the blind cave creatures are de-
scended from others which originally
lived in the light of day.
An ordinary proof of this is that,
though no faintest ray marks the diff
ference between day and darkness in
the depths they live in, yet it has been
beyond shadow of doubt
that those whose ancestors were noe
turnal in their habits still prefer to
move about during those hours when
The surface of the earth Is in dark
ness.
Numbers of different kinds of fish |
ire known to live in the gloomy rivers |
md lakes which exist In all large
:aves.
At San Marcos. Tex. borings were
'ecently made to provide a water sup
'ly for some new fish hatcheries. At
depth of 1873 feet a great stream of I
water was struck, which shot up at
he rate Of 1000 gallons a minute.
With it came thousands of tiny,
hrimp-like creatures, and also a
arge number of curious little, pale
olored reptiles. provided with long
ais and each having four legs. These
my monsters were absolutely eyeless.
he only trace that they ever pos
essed such organs are two little black
pots above the nostrils.
A similar creature known as the ohm
nhabits the rivers in the Austrian
ayes already mentioned. In the
epths OF the Planina cave, nearly a
lille and half from the entrance, the
I'm Is most abundant. The waters
re fairly alive with them, and when
ome years ago the Archdulke Terdi-
ana paid q visit to this cave a net
as let down and number of the lit
e reptiles caught for his benefit
hicago Chronicle. II