The Geotrupes: Nest-building 



covered at their toil, paralysed, it is true, 

 by the sudden flood of light and as it were 

 petrified in the attitude of work. The ar- 

 rangement of the workshop and the ma- 

 terials, the position and posture of the 

 workers enable us easily to reconstruct the 

 scene, though it be abruptly suspended and 

 not renewed so long as our inspection lasts. 



One fact, to begin with, thrusts itself upon 

 our attention, a fact of deep interest and so 

 exceptional that this is the first example with 

 which my entomological studies have pre- 

 sented me. In each burrow laid bare I al- 

 ways find two collaborators, a pair : I find the 

 male lending the mother his assistance. The 

 household dudes are divided between the two. 

 My notes give the following scene, to which 

 we can easily restore its animation according 

 to the pose of the immobihzed actors. 



The male is at the back of the gallery, 

 squatting on a length of sausage measuring 

 barely an inch. He occupies the basin 

 formed through the stuff's being packed more 

 tightly in the centre of each stratum. What 

 was he doing before the violation of his 

 home? His attitude tells us clearly: with his 

 sturdy legs, especially the hind-legs, he was 

 pressing down the last layer placed in posi- 

 tion. His mate occupies the upper floor, al- 

 30s 



