Darwin stated in a letter to Leonard Jenyns that a beetle had attacked him on that occasion , but he did not know what kind : A `` Cychrus rostratus '' once squirted into my eye & gave me extreme pain ; & I must tell you what happened to me on the banks of the Cam in my early entomological days ; under a piece of bark I found two carabi ( I forget which ) & caught one in each hand , when lo & behold I saw a sacred `` Panagæus crux major '' ; I could not bear to give up either of my Carabi , & to lose `` Panagæus '' was out of the question , so that in despair I gently seized one of the carabi between my teeth , when to my unspeakable disgust & pain the little inconsiderate beast squirted his acid down my throat & I lost both Carabi & `` Panagæus '' !
He discussed this in a letter : `` A `` Cychrus rostratus '' once squirted into my eye & gave me extreme pain ; & I must tell you what happened to me on the banks of the Cam in my early entomological days ; under a piece of bark I found two carabi ( I forget which ) & caught one in each hand , when lo & behold I saw a sacred `` Panagaeus cruxmajor '' ; I could not bear to give up either of my Carabi , & to lose `` Panagæus '' was out of the question , so that in despair I gently seized one of the carabi between my teeth , when to my unspeakable disgust & pain the little inconsiderate beast squirted his acid down my throat & I lost both Carabi & `` Panagæus '' ! ''