More Beetles 



Look at his trident. On the solid founda- 

 tion of the corselet stand three sharp spears, 

 the two outer ones long, the middle one 

 short, all three pointing forwards. What 

 purpose does this weapon serve? At first 

 sight, one would take it for a mere masculine 

 decoration, the corporation of Dung-beetles 

 boasting many such, of various forms. 

 Well, it is something more than an orna- 

 ment: the Minotaur turns his gaud into a 

 tool. 



The three points of unequal length de- 

 scribe a concave arc, wide enough to admit 

 a spherical dropping. Standing on his in- 

 complete and quaking floor, which demands 

 the employment of his four hind-legs, 

 propped against the walls of the shaft, how 

 will the Beetle manage to keep the slippery 

 pellet in position and break it up? Let us 

 watch him at work. 



Stooping a little, he drives his fork into 

 the piece, which is thenceforth rendered sta- 

 tionary, for it is held in the crescent-shaped 

 jaws of the implement. The fore-legs are 

 free ; with their toothed shanks they can saw 

 the morsel, shred it and reduce it to frag- 

 ments which gradually fall through the gaps 

 in the flooring and reach the mother below, 



120 



