A CURIOUS ATTITUDE. 113 



It is botli on account of the shape of the egg- ball made by the 

 Soarabffius, and of the intense love which the insect bears for 

 it, that the ancients employed it as an emblem of the Divine 

 Creator's power. The earthen ball, with the egg in its centre, 

 was taken as an emblem of fertility, and the attachment of the 

 beetle to the ball was recognised as an emblem of the Creator's 

 love towards His creatures. 



There are many species or varieties of this Beetle scattered 

 over all the warmer portions of the w^orld, and in most places 

 they have some popular name. In many parts of America, for 

 example, they are plentiful, and go by the popular name of 

 Tumble-bugs, the latter word being in general use in America 

 to designate a Beetle of any kind. 



In general appearance this Beetle has rather a striking 

 appearance. It is black in colour, and furnished beneath with a 

 quantity of long, dense, brownish hairs, to which the earth clings 

 so firmly that I have hardly seen a specimen which had not its 

 downy coat clogged with soil. The head is very flat and shovel- 

 like, and is cut into deep notches so that it seems to be sur- 

 rounded with spikes. The tibios of the fore-legs are furnished 

 on their outer edges with four long and powerful teeth ; and 

 when the Beetle assumes an attitude of which it is very fond, 

 i.e. placing its fore-legs on 'either side of its head, the whole 

 front of the insect looks like a flat, spiky wdieel. This attitude 

 was very familiar to the ancient Egyptians, and in almost every 

 case wdiere the Sacred Scarabteus is sculptured, whether it be the 

 gigantic granite image in the British Museum, or the tiny gold, 

 glass, or porcelain figures that are strung on necklaces and 

 bracelets, the insect is represented in the attitude of rest, 

 crouching low iipon the earth, with its fore- legs on either side 

 of its head. The body is very rotund, and the elytra are nearly 

 smooth, being only marked by some lines of faint punctures. 



The generic name Atcuchus signifies " unarmed," and is given 

 to the insects because neither the head nor thorax possesses those 

 horn-like projections which are so conspicuous in many of the 

 larger Lamellicorns. The name Scarahceus has already been 

 explained on page 62. 



The number of these Beetles is so very great that we must be 

 contented with, two types ; namely, the Sacred Scaraba3us wdiich 



I 



