THE ATEUCHUS SACER. 279 
figured it on amulets, and cut its shape deeply on their tombs. 
They worshipped the beetle, knowing its habits, for they were an 
agricultural people; and the title of “sacred” has descended to 
the present day. 
The Ateuchus sacer is quite black, has two tubercles on its 
head, the elytra are finely striated, there are four spines on the 
fore legs, and it is scarcely an inch in length. 
THE SACRED BEETLE (Adeuchius sacer). 
The instincts of this beetle are very remarkable. It may be 
found buried in dung, or seen rolling a pill of like substances, 
which it drags about with its hind legs along the roads and 
paths. It does not do all this, or select the offensive matters and 
roll them up and wheel them off in its peculiar fashion to please 
mankind, or to fertilise the soil for our benefit. .The care for the 
future offspring, which it will never see, is at the bottom of the 
