CHAPTER XIV 



THE GEOTRUPES: THE LARVA 



THE egg takes from one to two weeks to 

 hatch, according as it is laid in October 

 or September. As a rule the hatching takes 

 place in the first fortnight of October. The 

 larva grows pretty quickly and soon mani- 

 fests very different characteristics from those 

 displayed by the other Dung-beetles. We 

 find ourselves in a new world, full of sur- 

 prises. The grub is folded in two, it is bent 

 into a hook, as required by the narrowness 

 of the cell, which is scooped out gradually 

 as the inside of the sausage is consumed. 



Even so did the grubs of the Sacred Beetle, 

 the Copris and the others comport them- 

 selves; but the larva of the Geotrupes has not 

 the hump that gave the first-named such an 

 ungainly figure. Its back is curved regu- 

 larly. This entire absence of a knapsack, of 

 a putty-bag, points to different habits. The 

 larva, in fact, is not acquainted with the art 

 of plugging crevices. If I contrive an open- 

 ing in the part of the sausage which it occu- 

 317 . 



