The Sacred Beetle and Others 



lower two-thirds of the thimble into a com- 

 pact block; the cell containing the egg is at 

 the top, under a thin, concave lid. 



There is nothing fresh about the work of 

 the Bull Onthophagus, which, save for being 

 larger, differs in no way from that of the 

 Forked Onthophagus. I am unacquainted 

 with the insect's modus operandi. As re- 

 gards the inner secrets of nest-building, these 

 dwarfs are as reticent as their big colleagues. 

 One alone satisfied my curiosity, or nearly; 

 and then it was not an Onthophagus but a 

 kindred species, the Yellow-footed Oniti- 

 cellus (O. fiavipes) . 



I capture her in the last week of July, 

 under a heap which a Mule employed in 

 treading out the corn on the thrashing-floor 

 dropped during a rest from work. The 

 thick blanket, transformed by a hot sun into 

 an incomparable incubator, shelters a host of 

 Onthophagi. The Oniticellus is by herself. 

 Her quick retreat down a yawning well at- 

 tracts my attention. I dig;^ to a depth of 

 about two inches and extract the lady of the 

 house together with her work, the latter in a 

 sadly damaged condition. I can, however, 

 distinguish a sort of bag. 



I instal the Oniticellus in a tumbler, on a 

 layer of heaped earth, and give her as her 

 254 



