The Sacred Beetle and Others 



form the larva's first mouthfuls. To make 

 this dainty food, does the mother collect the 

 quintessence of the dung? The appearance 

 of it tells me something different and makes 

 me certain that it is a pap prepared in the 

 maternal stomach. The Pigeon softens the 

 grain in her crop and turns it into a sort of 

 milky pap which she subsequently disgorges 

 to her brood. To all seeming, the Dung- 

 beetle displays the same solicitude: she half- 

 digests choice provender and disgorges it in 

 the form of a meat-extract with which she 

 lines the walls of the cavity where the egg is 

 laid. Thus the larva, on hatching, finds 

 an easily-digested food, which very soon 

 strengthens its stomach and enables it to at- 

 tack the under-lying strata, which have not 

 been refined in the same way. Under the 

 semi-fluid paste is a soft, well-compressed, 

 uniform mass, from which every stringy par- 

 ticle Is excluded. Beyond this are the 

 coarser layers, abounding in vegetable fibres. 

 Finally, the outside of the ball is composed 

 of the commonest materials, but packed and 

 felted into a stout rind. 



Manifestly we have here a progressive 



change of diet. On leaving the egg, the 



frail grub licks the dainty broth on the 



walls of its cell. There is not much of 



52 



