More Beetles 



very mild. It is no longer winter, and it is 

 not yet spring; the sun is pleasant in the day- 

 time and at night there is a certain charm in 

 the blaze of a few logs upon the hearth. On 

 the rosemary bushes in the garden, already 

 displaying their wealth of liliaceous flowers, 

 the Bees are gathering booty, the red-bellied 

 Osmiae are humming, while the big grey Lo- 

 custs stand twirling their great wings and 

 proclaiming their joy of life. This delicious 

 season of awakening spring should be to the 

 Minotaurs' liking. 



I marry my captives : I give each of them 

 a mate, a magnificent horned male, brought 

 home from the fields. The household is set 

 up during the night; and without delay the 

 couple get to work in earnest. The co-oper- 

 ation has given fresh life to the workshop. 

 Before this, the males, leading solitary lives 

 in short burrows, used commonly to doze, 

 not caring to gather pellets or to sink shafts 

 of any depth; the females for the most part 

 displayed no greater industry; the burrows 

 remained superficial, the mounds compara- 

 tively flat, the harvest unproductive. As 

 soon as the household is established, they 

 dig deeply, and hoard plentifully. In twice 

 twenty-four hours, the expulsion of rubbish 

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