220 OUR INSECT FRIENDS AND FOES 



(the clypeus, to give it its anatomical name), 

 appear to have become specially developed to 

 suit the habits of the beetle. The hind legs are 

 long and somewhat distant from the other legs, 

 giving the Scarab a curious appearance and un- 

 certain straddling gait. The Scarab lives upon 

 dung, which it forms into balls and carries away 

 from the main mass of excrementous matter. 

 Owing in the first place to careless observation 

 and the repetition of statements lacking accurate 

 verification, considerable confusion exists in 

 many popular writings concerning this ball- 

 forming habit. The idea that the egg was 

 deposited in the centre of the ball of dung, and 

 then rolled hither and thither until a suitable 

 hole was found for it to fall into, appears to date 

 back to the times of the ancient Egyptians, and 

 to have been handed down through the centuries 

 as an accredited fact. One would have imagined 

 that a moment's careful consideration of the frail 

 character of the egg-contents would have served 

 to stimulate suspicion of this ancient theory. 

 But ancient beliefs die hard, particularly when 

 it is difficult to prove their error, and it was only 

 after the most protracted and untiring research 

 and observation on the part of M. Fabre that 

 this myth was dissipated. As the result of his 

 patient investigations, M. Fabre has shown that 

 the female Scarab excavates a large chamber 

 beneath the soil, which is entered by a narrow 

 passage ; that therein she collects a quantity of 

 dung which she most carefully sorts and works 

 up into a round mass, using only the finest and 

 most easily digested portions for the interior, 



