Some Anomalies 



counterfeits. They lie withered against the 

 larva's back. Bent into a hook, their ex- 

 tremities avoid the ground and turn in to- 

 wards the insect's back, without furnishing 

 the least support for standing. They are 

 not legs but uncertain attempts, awkward ex- 

 periments. 



The fore-legs, though well-shaped, are of 

 insignificant dimensions. The tiny creature 

 keeps them tucked away under the front of 

 its body, where they serve to hold in position 

 the morsel at which it is nibbling. The mid- 

 dle pair, on the contrary, are long and power- 

 ful and well in evidence. Standing up like 

 two stout crutches, they lend stability to the 

 fat, curved paunch, which has a tendency to 

 capsize. When seen from behind, the grub 

 gives the impression of being the most whim- 

 sical creature on earth. It is just a pot-belly 

 mounted on a pair of stilts. 



What is the object of this curious organi- 

 zation? One can understand the grotesque 

 hump worn by the grub of the Onthophagus, 

 the sugar-loaf knapsack whose weight is con- 

 stantly overturning the little creature when it 

 tries to change its position. This hump is a 

 storehouse of cement for the construction of 

 the cabin in which the transformation is to 

 257 



