The Glow- Worm and Other Beetles 



abyss, the wily Dung-beetle summons three 

 or four of his neighbours, who kindly pull 

 out the pellet and return to their labours 

 when the work of salvage is done.^ 



The ill-interpreted exploit of the thieving 

 pill-roller sets me on my guard against that 

 of the undertaker. Shall I be too particular 

 if I ask what precautions the observer took 

 to recognize the owner of the Mouse on his 

 return, when he reappears, as we are told, 

 with four assistants? What sign denotes 

 that one of the five who was able, in so ra- 

 tional a manner, to call for help? Can we 

 even be sure that the one to disappear re- 

 turns and forms one of the band? There 

 is nothing to tell us so; and this was the es- 

 sential point which a sterling observer was 

 bound not to neglect. Were they not rather 

 five chance Necrophori who, guided by the 

 smell, without any previous understanding, 

 hastened to the abandoned Mouse to exploit 

 her on their own account? I incline to this 

 opinion, the likeliest of all in the absence of 

 exact information. 



Probability becomes certainty if we check 

 the fact by experiment. The test with the 



1 For the confutation of this theory, cf. The Sacred 

 Beetle and Others: chap. i. — Translator's Note. 

 326 



