The Sacred Beetle and Others 



shows from time to time by exultant 

 transports; but it has also certain dis- 

 advantages. I have never witnessed any 

 quarrel at harvest-time between next-door 

 neighbours, when these were Copres or 

 Geotrupes. Working in the dark, each is 

 ignorant of what is happening beside him. 

 The rich morsel secured by one of them 

 cannot arouse the envy of his neighbours, 

 since it is not perceived. This perhaps 

 explains the pacific relations among Dung- 

 beetles who work in the gloomy depths of 

 the heap. 



My suspicions are not unfounded. Rob- 

 bery, the execrable right of the strongest, is 

 not the exclusive prerogative of the human 

 brute: animals also practise it; and the 

 Sacred Beetle is a notorious offender. As 

 the work is done in the open, every one 

 knows or is able to find out what his 

 companions are doing. They are mutually 

 envious of each other's pills; and scuffles take 

 place between proprietors wishing to leave 

 the yard and plunderers who find it more 

 convenient to rob their fellows than to set 

 to work and knead loaves for themselves. 

 On guard on the top of his treasure, the 

 owner of a ball will face his assailant, who 

 is trying to climb up, and push him into 

 70 



