SELF-DENIAL OF THE SPANISH COPRIS 81 



roam restlessly round the enclosure, whereas I always see her 

 very quiet and absorbed. 



To make certain, I have inspected my glass jars at different 

 times. She could go lower down in the sand and hide any- 

 where she pleased, if rest were what she wanted ; she could 

 climb outside and sit down to fresh food, if refreshment became 

 necessary. Neither the prospect of rest in a deeper cave nor 

 the thought of the sun and of food makes her leave her family. 

 Until the last of them has burst his shell she sticks to her 

 post. I always find her beside her cradles. 



For four months she is without food of any kind. She 

 was no better than a glutton at first, when there was no 

 family to consider, but now she becomes self-denying to the 

 point of prolonged fasting. The Hen sitting on her eggs 

 forgets to eat for some weeks ; the watchful Copris mother 

 forgets food for a third part of the year. 



The summer is over. The rains so greatly desired by man 

 and beast have come at last, soaking the ground to some 

 depth. After the torrid and dusty days of our Provengal 

 summer, when life is in suspense, we have the coolness that 

 revives it. The heath puts out its first pink bells ; the 

 autumnal squill lifts its little spike of lilac flowers ; the straw- 

 berry-tree's coral bells begin to soften ; the Sacred Beetle 

 and the Copris burst their shells, and come to the surface in 

 time to enjoy the last fine weather of the year. 



The newly released Copris family, accompanied by their 

 mother, gradually emerge from underground. There are 

 three or four of them, five at most. The sons are easily 

 recognised by the greater length of their horns ; but there 

 is nothing to distinguish the daughters from the mother. 

 For that matter, the same confusion exists among themselves. 

 An abrupt change has taken place. The mother whose devo- 

 tion was lately so remarkable is now utterly indifferent to 

 the welfare of her family. Henceforward each looks after 

 his own home and his own interests. They no longer have 

 anything to do with one another. 



