More Beetles 



into mutual contact and then and there the 

 builder is in possession of a pellet of cement 

 which the stercoral factory has that moment 

 furnished. To display such prompt obedi- 

 ence the intestine must certainly be pecu- 

 liarly obliging. That of the Cetonia-larva 

 is very highly so; directly it is called upon 

 to act, it acts. 



Now the true function of the legs is re- 

 vealed. Of no use for walking, they become 

 precious auxiliaries when the time comes for 

 building. They are tiny hands that seize the 

 piece gathered by the mandibles, turn it 

 over and over, and hold it while the mason 

 subdivides it and applies it economically. 

 The pincers of the mandibles serve as a 

 trowel. 



They cut bit after bit from the lump, 

 chewing and kneading the material and then 

 spreading it on the edge of the breach. The 

 forehead presses and smooths it as it is laid. 

 When the supply of the moment is ex- 

 hausted, the grub, coiling itself again into 

 a closed hook, will obtain a further piece 

 from its warehouse, which remains obedient 

 to its orders. 



The little that the breach allows us to 

 see — for it is pretty quickly repaired— tells 

 32 



