The Sacred Beetle and Others 



maximum aggregate of nutritive materials, 

 so that the grub may find sufficient nourish- 

 ment. Now what is the form that encloses 

 the greatest bulk within the smallest super- 

 ficial area? Geometry answers, the sphere. 



The Scarab, therefore, shapes the larva's 

 ration into a sphere (we will leave the neck 

 of the pear out of the question for the 

 moment) ; and this, round form is not the 

 result of blind mechanical conditions, im- 

 posing an inevitable shape upon the worker; 

 it is not the violent effect of the roll- 

 ing along the ground. We have already 

 seen that, for the purpose of easier and 

 swifter transit, the insect kneads into a 

 perfect sphere the materials which it intends 

 to consume at a distance, without moving 

 that sphere from the spot on which it rests; 

 in short, we have realized that the round 

 form precedes the rolling. 



In the same way, it will be seen presently 

 that the pear destined for the grub is 

 fashioned in the burrow. It undergoes no 

 rolling-process, it is not even moved. The 

 Sacred Beetle gives it the requisite outline 

 exactly as a modelling artist might do, 

 shaping his clay under the pressure of his 

 thumb. 



With the tools which it possesses, the 



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