 Why have humans been carrying beetles around the galaxy?
Two hours since, the sun of this solar system had been a vast glaring disk off to port, with streamers and prominences erupting about its edges. The ice-cap, by its existence and circular shape, proved that the planet rotated at a not unreasonable rate. A water-ice ice-cap said that there were no poisonous gases in the planet's atmosphere. A small one like this meant wide tropical and sub-tropical zones. The fact was verified by the thick, dense cloud-masses which covered most of the surface,—all the surface, in fact, outside the ice-cap. But since there were ice-caps there would be temperate regions. In short, the ice-cap proved that a man could endure the air and temperature conditions he would find. Two of the Nadine's four-man crew watched out the same ports as the planet seemed to approach. It wasn't an identification beacon, such as are placed on certain worlds for the convenience of interstellar skippers who need to check their courses on extremely long runs. They didn't seem to resent what he'd tried to do, or that he'd brought them an indefinite distance in an indefinite direction from their last landing-point, and they had still to re-locate themselves. With clearance-papers in order, they could land unquestioned at any other space-port and take off again—provided the other space-port was one they had clearance for. Without rigid control of space-travel, any criminal anywhere could escape the consequences of any crime simply by buying a ticket to another world. Wherever the yacht landed, such a disparity between its documents and its crew would spark an investigation. It could have travelled at almost any speed in practically any direction for a length of time that was at least indefinite. A liner could re-locate itself without trouble. The process would be to find a planet and check its climate and relationship to other planets, and its flora and fauna against descriptions in the Directory. It marked a first-landing spot on some planet or other, so the people could find that spot again. If they left a beacon, they may have left an identification of the planet. That will depend on where we are from Loris because we have to keep enough for ourselves. The emergency-kit contained antiseptics, seeds, and a weapon or two, with elaborate advice to castaways. If somebody were wrecked on an even possibly habitable planet, the especially developed seed-strains would provide food in a minimum of time.
 Beetles are just one piece of the puzzle to create an ecological system capable of supporting human life.
 Beetles are just one piece of the puzzle to create an ecological system capable of supporting human life.  Beetles are a good source of protein for new planet settlers.  Beetles, like other pests, always seem to make their way on board spaceships.  Beetles are an integral part of a spaceship's waste management system.