The Sacred Beetle and Others 



weights; even so might the Scarab be 

 crippled in roUing his ball, an enormous load 

 to him. In that case his maimed arms 

 would be a noble testimony to his industrious 

 hfe. 



But straightway grave doubts begin to 

 assail us. If these mutilations were really 

 accidental and the result of too strenuous 

 work, they would-be the exception, not the 

 rule. Because a workman or several work- 

 men have had a hand caught and crushed in 

 a machine, it does not follow that all the 

 rest will also lose their hands. If the 

 Scarab sometimes, or even very frequently, 

 loses his fore-fingers In pursuing his trade as 

 a pill-roller, there must be some at least who, 

 more fortunate or more skilful, have 

 preserved their tarsi. Let us then consult 

 the actual facts. I have observed In very 

 large numbers the various species of 

 Scarabaei that Inhabit France: Scarahaeiis 

 sacer, who Is common In Provence; S. 

 semipunctatiis, who keeps fairly close to the 

 sea and frequents the sandy shores of Cette, 

 Palavas and the Golfe Juan; lastly, S. 

 laticollis, who is much more widely dis- 

 tributed than either of the others and Is 

 found up the Rhone Valley at least as far 

 as Lyons. In addition, I have studied an 



S6 



