28 INSECT LIFE n 



was required to sweep away received opinions. I 

 therefore opened hundreds of balls rolled by the 

 dung beetles and others out of holes dug under my 

 eyes, and never, never did I find either a central 

 niche or an egg in the pellets. They are invariably 

 rough heaps of food, hastily shaped, with no par- 

 ticular structure inside them, merely provender with 

 which the beetles shut themselves up to enjoy an 

 orgy in peace for some days. They covet and steal 

 them with an energy which they certainly would not 

 show if it implied new family cares. It would be 

 absurd for one Scarabaeus to steal the eggs of another, 

 each having enough to do in securing the future of 

 its own. So on that point no more doubt can exist ; 

 the balls rolled by beetles never contain eggs. 



My first attempt to resolve the thorny question 

 as to the bringing up of the larva was by construct- 

 ing an ample enclosure with an artificial soil of sand 

 and soil constantly renewed. Some twenty Scara- 

 baeus sacer were introduced, together with Copris, 

 Gymnopleurus, and Onthophagus, and never did 

 entomological experiment cost me so many morti- 

 fications. The main difficulty was to renew the 

 food. My landlord owned a stable and a horse. I 

 gained the confidence of his servant, who first 

 laughed at my plans, and then allowed himself to be 

 gained over by a silver coin. Every breakfast for 

 my beetles cost twopence halfpenny ; never before 

 did the budget of a scavenger beetle amount to such 

 a sum. I can still see and shall always see Joseph, 

 as, when after grooming his horse of a morning, he 

 would raise his head a little above the wall between 

 the two gardens and call " Heigh ! heigh ! " on 



