The Sacred Beetle: the Nymph 



chemist and apparatus. What the Sheep, 

 with her fourfold stomach, has left behind 

 as worthless residue is an excellent thing for 

 the grub, which also boasts a mighty paunch; 

 but the larva's own droppings, though no 

 doubt pleasing In their turn to consumers of 

 another class, are loathsome to the grub it- 

 self. Then where shall the cumbrous refuse 

 be stored, in a lodging of such niggardly 

 dimensions? 



I have described elsewhere the singular 

 Industry of the Cotton-bees,^ whose larvae, 

 in order not to foul their provision of honey, 

 make from their digestive dregs an elegant 

 casket, a masterpiece of inlaid work. With 

 the only material at Its disposal In its se- 

 cluded retreat, with the filth that apparently 

 ought to be an intolerable nuisance, the grub 

 of the Sacred Beetle produces a work less 

 artistic than the Cotton-bee's but much 

 more comfortable. Let us see how It is 

 done. 



Attacking its pear at the bottom of the 

 neck, eating steadily downwards and leaving 

 nothing Intact in Its area of operations except 

 a flimsy wall necessary for its protection, 



1 Cf. Bramble-bees and Others, by J. Henri Fabre, trans- 

 lated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: chap. ix. — Trans- 

 lator's Note. 



139 



