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could not be uniform: there are many causes 

 that induce it to vary, such as the degree of 

 moisture and consistency in the soil tra- 

 versed, the insect's passion for work and the 

 time available, according to the more or less 

 remote date of the egg-laying. I have seen 

 burrows dip a little deeper; I have seen 

 others reach not quite three feet. In any 

 case, Minotaurus^ to settle his family, re- 

 quires a lodging of extravagant depth, such 

 as is dug by no other burrower of my ac- 

 quaintance. Presently we shall have to ask 

 ourselves what imperious needs oblige the 

 collector of Sheep-droppings to dwell at 

 such depths. 



Before leaving the spot, let us note a fact 

 whose evidence will be of value later. The 

 female was right at the bottom of the bur- 

 row; above her, at some distance, was the 

 male: both were struck motionless with 

 fright in the midst of an occupation whose 

 nature we are as yet hardly able to specify. 

 This detail, observed repeatedly in the dif- 

 ferent burrows dug up, seems to show that 

 each of the two fellow-workers has a def- 

 inite place. 



The mother, more skilled in nursery mat- 

 ters, occupies the lower floor. She alone 

 90 



