BEETLES. 55 



inch long, of a black, and some of them of a change- 

 able green or purple, colour, exhaling a fetid odour, 

 slightly resembling that of musk. These Beetles 

 are complete models of industry and parental care, 

 for they are continually occupied in making small 

 balls of fresh manure, about the size of a common 

 marble, which they mix with earth, and into which 

 they deposit an egg. As soon as the ball is dry, 

 they roll it and roll it until they find a convenient 

 place for making a hole two or three feet deep, into 

 which they roll it, and then bury up their offspring, 

 the precious object of so much care. 



The ancient Egyptians were so convinced of the 

 benefit derived from these insects, that they consid- 

 ered Pellet-beetles as sacred, and usually represented 

 them in their temples, obelisks, and statues. They 

 are also found even in their mummeries. The Ateu- 

 chus sacer of the Egyptians, however, although of the 

 same character and habits as our Pellet-beetle, is twice 

 as large, and is also black. It is found not only in 

 Egypt, I saw it also in France, Italy, the Crimea, and 

 along the Caucasus. 



We come now to a species of Insects which are 

 in rather bad repute among farmers, because they 

 feed on decayed wood, and because some of them 

 deposit their eggs in the crevices of the bark of 

 many trees. I do not here speak of the destructive 



