More Beetles 



eating with little warehouses. Here are 

 kept in reserve, at every level of the shaft, 

 treasures which the mother will be able to 

 employ even after the hoarder's decease. 

 Pending the arrival of the eggs and the 

 preparation of the loaves on the offsprings' 

 behalf, the zealous father keeps on collect- 

 ing, storing a little of the food at the bot- 

 tom of his dwelling and a great deal more in 

 lateral chambers, distributed over several 

 floors. 



But the eggs are wanting. What can the 

 reason be? I begin by perceiving that the 

 shaft runs down to the bottom of the appa- 

 ratus, which is 55 inches high. It stops 

 suddenly at the board which closes the bot- 

 tom of the prism. This insuperable ob- 

 stacle shows signs of attempted erosion. 

 The mother, therefore, dug as long as dig- 

 ging was possible; then, coming to a barrier 

 against which all her efforts failed, she 

 climbed back to the surface, worn out and 

 disheartened, having nothing left to do but 

 die, for lack of an establishment to suit her. 



Could she not lodge her eggs at the bot- 

 tom of the prism, where a degree of moisture 

 is maintained equal to that of the natural 

 burrows? Perhaps not. In my part of the 

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