74 THE WONDERS OF INSTINCT 



layer of parasites envelops them; insinuating itself into 

 the joints, it forms an almost continuous surface. The 

 insect presents a misshapen appearance under this over- 

 coat of vermin, which my hair-pencil can hardly brush 

 aside. Driven off the belly, the horde make the tour of 

 the sufferer and encamp on his back, refusing to relin- 

 quish their hold. 



I recognize among them the Beetle's Gamasis, the Tick 

 who so often soils the ventral amethyst of our Geotrupes. 

 No; the prizes of life do not fall to the share of the use- 

 ful. Necrophori and Geotrupes devote themselves to 

 works of general salubrity; and these two corporations, 

 so interesting in the accomplishment of their hygienic 

 functions, so remarkable for their domestic morality, are 

 given over to the vermin of poverty. Alas, of this dis- 

 crepancy between the services rendered and the harsh- 

 ness of life there are many other examples outside the 

 world of scavengers and undertakers! 



The Burying-beetles display an exemplary domestic 

 morality, but it does not persist until the end. During 

 the first fortnight of June, the family being sufficiently 

 provided for, the sextons strike work and my cages are 

 deserted, so far as the surface is concerned, in spite of 

 new arrivals of Mice and Sparrows. From time to time 

 some grave-digger leaves the subsoil and comes crawling 

 languidly in the fresh air. 



Another rather curious fact now attracts my attention. 

 All, as soon as they emerge from underground, are 

 cripples, whose limbs have been amputated at the joints, 

 some higher up, some lower down. I see one mutilated 



