The Broad-necked Scarab 



tricks of the trade, industrial specialities 

 unknown to the other? It is a highly in- 

 teresting problem, for the impassable line of 

 demarcation between the two species is much 

 more conspicuous in these psychological 

 differences than in the differences of the 

 wing-case or antenna. 



The Scarab clan is represented in my 

 district by the Sacred Beetle {Scarahaeiis 

 sacer, LiN.), the Half-spotted Scarab {S. 

 semipunctatus, Fab.) and the Broad-necked 

 Scarab {S. laticollis, LiN. ). The two 

 former are chilly creatures and hardly stir 

 from the Mediterranean; the third goes 

 pretty far north. The Half-spotted Scarab 

 does not leave the coast; he abounds on the 

 sandy beaches of the Golfe Juan, Cette and 

 Palavas. I have, in my time, admired his 

 prowess at pill-rolling, of w^hlch he is as 

 fervent a devotee as his colleague the Sacred 

 Beetle. Today, though we are old friends, 

 I cannot, to my great regret, give my 

 attention to him: we are too far away from 

 each other. I recommend him to any one 

 wishing to add a chapter to Scarab bio- 

 graphy: he also must have — I feel nearly 

 sure of it — peculiarities that are worth 

 noting. 



And so, to complete this study, there re- 



163 



