24 Transactions South African PliUosopliical Socicti/. [vol. xii. 



three apical ones, and very often these teeth are preceded by a 

 strong serration ; the inner part of the tibiae is often simple, serrate, 

 somewhat laminate at tip (S'. j^rocligiosus profanus), mucronate at 

 apex [S. hottcntotns, S.galenus), and occasionally with short, vertical 

 teeth on the upper side (<S'. modestus) ; the anterior femora are very 

 much developed at base, muticous or armed with two conspicuous 

 spines underneath {Pachylomera fcmoraJis ^ ) or a small one on the 

 lower edge of the groove (S. metaUicus), but the upper edge of the 

 groove is more or less distinctly serrate ; the intermediate and 

 posterior tibiae are densely ciliate and end in a very long, compressed 

 spur, slightly arcuate and fused, or nearly so, with the tibia {Pachy- 

 lomera, Scarabans), or arcuate nearly at right angles from about two- 

 thirds of the length, articulate and slender {Sebasteos, save for 

 S. laticeps, in which the spurs are not more sharply arcuate than in 

 other species of Scarabans), they are carinate outwardly, and the 

 ridge has two more or less distinct blunt teeth ; the posterior legs 

 are always sinuate and sometimes conspicuously so {S. interstitialis, 

 S. Ucitus, &c.) ; in ;S'. caffer the two posterior trochanters are pro- 

 duced in a distinct, sharp spine projecting beyond the junction of the 

 femur. The two valves of the genital armature of the male are 

 either symmetrical [Pachylomera) or asymmetrical {Scarabaus, 

 Sebastcos). 



I cannot detect any difference in the appearance of the two sexes, 

 except in Pachylomera femoralis, the male of which has two spines 

 instead of one on the under side of the anterior femora. When the 

 inner serration of the anterior tibiae is strong in the female, this 

 serration is not quite so conspicuous, l)ut the difference is hardly 

 noticeable. 



Until quite recently it was thought that the female Scaraba^us 

 deposited its egg or eggs in the round ball of dung rolled by her, but 

 it is now known {vide Fabre's Souvenirs Entomologiques, 5th series, 

 1897) that this ball is intended for elaboration at leisure, under the 

 ground, into a pear-shaped mass, in w^hich the egg is deposited at 

 the narrowed apical part. The male also buries the ball, but it is 

 appetite only that prompts him to do so. Fabre says that he has 

 timed a Scarabceus sacer of Southern Europe taking his meal. This 

 lasted twelve hours without interruption, and during that time the 

 Scarabaus digested nearly its own volume of food. 



These round balls, sometimes one and a half inches in diameter, 

 are often found in the Cape Colony partly eaten on one side. They 

 are dug out by mice and baboons, but it is most probable that this 

 digging out is intended for securing the beetle, and not for the sake 

 of its provision of victuals. 



