The Sacred Beetle and Others 



repair that breach. This putty is the 

 material which we shall see the larva using 

 later, when accidents of that kind occur from 

 external causes. 



If it ate into its heap of provisions at 

 random, it would expose itself to serious 

 risks from the outside; at the very least it 

 would be liable to slip out of its cradle and 

 tumble to the grodnd through the open 

 window. Once it falls out of its cell, there 

 is no hope for the little grub. It will not 

 know how to make its way back to the 

 larder; and, if it does find its heap of pro- 

 visions again, it will be repelled by the hard 

 rind with its bits of grit and sand. In its 

 wisdom, greater than any possessed by the 

 young of the higher animals, which are 

 always watched over by a mother, the new- 

 born larva, still sleek and shiny with the 

 slime of the egg, thoroughly knows the 

 danger and avoids it by masterly tactics. 



Though all the food around it Is alike 

 and all is to its taste, nevertheless it tackles 

 exclusively the floor of its cell, a floor con- 

 tinued by the bulky sphere in which bites will 

 be permissible in every direction, as the 

 consumer pleases. 



Can any one explain why this particular 

 spot is chosen as the starting-point, when 



120 



