The Sacred Beetle and Others 



wards, like the long blade of a mattock. In 

 addition to a similar horn, the Lunary Copris 

 has two strong spikes curved like a plough- 

 share, springing from the thorax, and also, 

 between the two, a jagged protuberance 

 which does duty as a wide rake, Biibas 

 biibalis and B. bison, both exclusively 

 Mediterranean species, have their forehead 

 armed with two, stout diverging horns, be- 

 tween which juts a horizontal dagger, sup- 

 plied by the corselet. Minotaiirus typhous 

 carries on the front of his thorax three 

 ploughshares, which stick straight out, 

 parallel to one another, the side ones longer 

 than the middle one. The Bull Onthapha- 

 gus has as his tool two long curved pieces 

 that remind us of the horns of a Bull; the 

 Cow Onthaphagus, on the other hand, has a 

 two-pronged fork standing erect on his flat 

 head. Even the poorest have, either on 

 their head or on their corselet, hard knobs 

 that make implements which the patient in- 

 sect can turn to good use, notwithstanding 

 their bluntness. All are supplied with a 

 shovel, that is to say, they have a wide, flat 

 head with a sharp edge; all use a rake, that 

 is to say, they collect materials with their 

 toothed fore-legs. 



As some sort of compensation for their 



4 



