The Sacred Beetle and Others 



whose only communication with the outside 

 was by means of a gallery into which I was 

 just able to insert my finger. It is true that 

 the Copres do not roll pills and do not 

 travel long distances to fetch food home. 

 They dig a hole immediately under the dung 

 and drag the material backwards, armful by 

 armful, to the bottom of their well. They 

 have thus no difficulty in provisioning their 

 houses ; moreover, they work in security un- 

 der the shelter of the manure : two conditions 

 that promote luxurious tastes. [The Dung- 

 beetles that follow the humble trade of pill- 

 rollers are less extravagant; and yet, if he 

 cares to make two or three journeys, the 

 Sacred Beetle can amass wealth of which the 

 Spanish Copris might well be jealous. 



So far, the Beetle has only raw material, 

 lumped together anyhow. A minute sorting 

 has to take place before anything else is 

 done : this stuff, the purest, is for the inner 

 layer on which the grub will feed; that other, 

 coarser stuff is for the outer layers, which 

 are not meant for food and serve only as 

 a protecting shell. Then, around a central 

 hollow which receives the egg, the materials 

 must be arranged In successive strata, ac- 

 cording as they are less refined and less 

 nutritive; the layers must possess a proper 

 50 



