iThe Sacred Beetle and Others 



therefore, for the nymph to make its appear- 

 ance. 



This slowness in maturing surprises me. 

 Can it be the rule in the open fields? I 

 think so, for in the confinement of my insect- 

 house nothing happened, to my knowledge, 

 that would occasion this delay. I therefore 

 enter the result of my manoeuvres without 

 any fear of making a mistake: lying lifeless 

 in its elegant and solid casket, the larva of 

 the Bison Onitis takes twelve months to 

 develop into a nymph, whereas those of the 

 other Dung-beetles effect their transforma- 

 tion in a few weeks. As to stating or even 

 suspecting the cause of this strange larval 

 longevity, these are points which must be left 

 in the limbo of the unexplained. 



Softened by the September rains, the 

 stercoral shell, until now as hard as a plum- 

 stone, yields to the hermit's thrust; and the 

 adult Beetle comes up into the light of day 

 to lead a life of revelry so long as the mild 

 atmosphere of the last days of summer 

 permits. When the first cold weather 

 sets in, he retires to his winter quarters 

 underground and reappears in the spring to 

 begin the cycle of life all over again. 



376 



