The Bull Onthophagus: the Nymph 



do with the others? Nothing at all. They 

 are passing fancies, jewels of early youth; 

 the adult insect will not retain the least trace 

 of them. 



The nymph matures. The appendages 

 of the forehead, at first quite crystalline, now 

 show, when held up to the light, a streak 

 of reddish brown, curved like a bow. This 

 is the real horn taking shape, consistency and 

 colour. The appendage of the corselet and 

 those of the belly, on the other hand, 

 preserve their glassy appearance. They 

 are barren sacks, void of any germ capable 

 of development. The organism produced 

 them in a moment of impulse; now, scorn- 

 ful, or perhaps powerless, it allows its work 

 to wither and become useless. 



When the nymph sheds its covering and 

 the delicate tunic of the adult form is rent, 

 these strange horns crumble into fragments, 

 which fall away with the rest of the cast 

 clothing. In the hope of finding at least a 

 trace of the vanished things, the lens vainly 

 explores the bases but lately occupied. 

 There Is nothing appreciable left: the nymph 

 is now smooth; the real has given place to 

 the non-existent. Of the accessory panoply 

 so full of promise, absolutely naught re- 

 mains : everything has vanished into thin air. 

 409 



