It is eviscerated and swallowed as greedily as though it were a defenceless grub.
According to the hazard of discovery, I provision my menagerie with various caterpillars, some smooth and others hairy.

All are accepted with the utmost eagerness, so long as they are of average size as compared with the beetles themselves.

If too small they are despised, as they would not yield a sufficient mouthful.

If they are too large the beetle is unable to handle them.

The caterpillars of the Sphinx moth and 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.