

78 



There is no mistaking what has happened. The mother 

 has collected and kneaded into one lump the numerous frag- 

 ments brought down one after the other. Out of all those 

 particles she has made a single lump, by mashing them, 

 working them together, and treading on them. Time after 

 time I have seen her on top of the colossal loaf which is so 

 much larger than the ball of the Sacred Beetle a mere pill 

 in comparison. She strolls about on the convex surface, which 

 sometimes measures as much as four inches across ; she pats 

 the mass, and makes it firm and level. I only catch a sight 

 of the curious scene, for the moment she sees me she slips 

 down the curved slope and hides away. 



With the help of a row of glass jars, all enclosed in opaque 

 sheaths of cardboard, I can find out a good many interesting 

 things. In the first place, I have found that the big loaf does 

 not owe its curve which is always regular, no matter how 

 much the slope may vary to any rolling process. Indeed, 

 I already knew that so large a mass could not have been 

 rolled into a hole that it nearly fills. Besides, the strength 

 of the insect would be unequal to moving so great a load. 



Every time I go to the jar the evidence is the same. I 

 always see the mother Beetle twisted on top of the lump, 

 feeling here and feeling there, giving little taps, and making 

 the thing smooth. Never do I catch her looking as if she 

 wanted to turn the block. It is clear as daylight that rolling 

 has nothing to do with the matter. 



At last it is ready. The baker divides his lump of dough 

 into smaller lumps, each of which will become a loaf. The 

 Copris does the same thing. By making a circular cut with 

 the sharp edge of her forehead, and at the same time using 

 the saw of her fore-legs, she detaches from the mass a piece 

 of the size she requires. In giving this stroke she has no 

 hesitation : there are no after-touches, adding a bit here and 

 taking off a bit there. Straight away, with one sharp, decisive 

 cut, she obtains the proper-sized lump. 



Next comes the question of shaping it. Clasping it as 



