The marsh beetle lives in the Delta of the Vosk river.
It is a nocturnal beetle, crawling on the sand bars at night.
The trails left by marsh beetles are visible in the sands. I scouted the area. I detected no blind, no evidence of recent occupancy
by men, at least within the last several Ahn. The marsh beetle crawls upon
the sand at night and its tiny passage can be marked in the sand. Of the
footprints I saw several were traversed, like valleys, by the path of the
marsh beetle. Accordingly the prints had been made before the preceding
night. The crumbling at their edges, too, suggested a passage of several
Ahn, perhaps that they had been made as long ago as yesterday morning, or
the day before yesterday.
Vagabonds
Another mention of the nocturnal marsh beetle "But," I said, "you shall for five days, for five encampments, as a
punishment for crying out twice, after having been warned to silence,
and for not having responded instantly and perfectly to a command, that
connected with opening your mouth for the gag wadding, be tied as I often
was in the delta, hand and foot, and bound supine between two objects. In
this fashion you may better make the acquaintance of certain nocturnal
insects, such as the marsh beetle."
Vagabonds