Onthophagi and Oniticelli 



plastered against the walls in a tightly-packed 

 heap. The total lack of free space at the 

 sides of the pile show how the provisioning 

 is done. There is not a sign of a niche, of 

 the least corner that would leave the mother 

 enough liberty of movement to knead and 

 mould her bun. The material therefore is 

 simply pressed down at the bottom of the 

 cylindrical sheath, where it takes the shape 

 of a full thimble. 



I dig up some nests of the Forked 

 Onthophagus near the end of July. It is a 

 crude piece of work, which surprises you by 

 its roughness when you think of the neat little 

 worker. Wisps of hay, sticking out any- 

 how, increase the untidy look of things. 

 The nature of the materials, supplied this 

 time by the Mule, are partly the cause of this 

 ugly appearance. 



The length of these nests is fourteen 

 millimetres, the width seven.^ The upper 

 surface is slightly concave, proving that the 

 pressure has been exercised by the mother. 

 The lower end is rounded like the bottom of 

 . the well which serves as a mould. I take a 

 needle and with the point of it I pick the 

 rustic structure to pieces. The mass of 

 foodstuff occupies the base, forming the 



1 ,546 X .273 inch.— Translator's Note. 



253 



