The Sacred Beetle: the Modelling 



burrow in the form of a ball covered with 

 soil on every part of its surface. What will 

 the insect do with this sphere which contains 

 the paunch of the future pear ready-made? 

 It would be easy to answer this if I con- 

 cerned myself only with results, without 

 troubhng how those results were obtained. 

 It would be enough for me, as I have often 

 done, to capture the mother in her burrow 

 with her ball and take the whole lot home, to 

 my insect laboratory, in order to keep a close 

 watch on events. 



I fill a large glass jar with earth, sifted, 

 moistened and heaped to the desired depth. 

 I place the mother and the beloved pill which 

 she is clasping on the surface of this artificial 

 soil. I stow away the apparatus in a dim 

 corner and wait. My patience is not tried 

 very long. Urged by the insistent ovaries, 

 the Beetle resumes her interrupted work. 



In certain cases, I see her, still on the 

 surface, destroying her ball, ripping it up, 

 cutting it to pieces, shredding it. This is 

 not in the least the act of one in despair who, 

 finding herself a captive, breaks the precious 

 object in her madness. It is based on sound 

 hygienics. A scrupulous inspection of the 

 morsel which she has gathered in haste, 

 among lawless competitors, is often neces- 

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