The Sacred Beetle and Others 



most at the opening of the burrow. I see 

 her holding between her legs a great lump of 

 material which she has just gathered at the 

 bottom of the heap surmounting the house. 

 The scare caused by my intrusion has not 

 made her let go. Hanging up there, above 

 space, braced against the walls of the pit, she 

 clasps her burden with a sort of cataleptic 

 obstinacy. The nature of the Interrupted 

 work is easily guessed: Baucis was carrying 

 down to Philemon, the stronger of the two, 

 the wherewithal to continue the arduous work 

 of piling and trampling. After laying the 

 egg and surrounding It with those delicate 

 precautions of which a mother alone possesses 

 the secret, she had handed over the construc- 

 tion of the cylinder to her companion, confi- 

 ning herself to playing the humble part of a 

 caterer's man. 



Similar scenes, observed during different 

 phases of the work, enable me to draw a ge- 

 neral picture. The sausage begins with a 

 short, wide casing which closely lines the bot- 

 tom of the burrow. In this bag, with its 

 yawning mouth, I find the two sexes In the 

 midst of materials crumbled and possibly 

 weeded before being pressed, so that the grub 

 may have first-class victuals within its reach 

 as soon as It starts feeding. The couple be- 

 306 



