COLEOPTEEA. 459 



generally inhabits sandy countries, and has its body nearly always 

 covered with earth or dust ; it lives on vegetable substances, or on 

 animal matter in a state of decomposition. The habits of the genus 

 Copris resemble those of Geotrupes ; they live in excrement. The 

 form of their hood, broad, rounded, without indentation, and 

 advancing over the mouth, suffices to distinguish the kindred 

 species. In the environs of Paris and in England the Copris 

 lunaris is found. The larvae of these insects form a shell composed 

 of earth and dung, before transforming themselves into pupae ; 

 this shell is more or less round, and acquires a great hardness. 



The species of the genus Ateuckus* collect portions of excre- 

 ment, which they make up into balls, and roll till they are 

 as perfectly rounded as pills, and in which they lay their eggs. 

 This habit has gained for these insects the name of pill-makers. 

 Their hind legs seem to be peculiarly adapted for this operation, 

 for they are very long and somewhat distant from the other legs, 

 which gives to the Ateuchi a strange appearance, and makes it 

 hard work for them to walk. They walk backwards and often fall 

 head over heels. They are generally seen on declivities exposed 

 to the greatest heat of the sun, assembled together to the number 

 of four or five, occupied in rolling the same ball ; so that it is 

 impossible to know which is the real proprietor of this rolling 

 object. They seem not to know themselves ; for they roll indiffer- 

 ently the first ball which they meet with, or near which they are 

 placed. 



The Ateuch are large flat insects, with an indented head; they 

 all belong to the Ancient Continent. The type of the genus is the 

 Ateuchus sacer (Fig. 442), the Sacred Scarabgeus of the Egyptians. 

 This insect is black, and attains to a length of a little less than an 

 inch. It is to be found commonly enough in the south of France, 

 in the whole of southern Europe, Barbary, and Egypt. The paint- 

 ings and amulets of the ancient Egyptians very often represent 

 it, and sometimes give it a gigantic size. It is, doubtless, 

 then this species which was an object of veneration with the 

 Egyptians. 



There exists another species which is always represented as of 

 a magnificent golden green, and to which Herodotus also attributes 

 this colour. As it was not to be found in Egypt, it was thought 



