The Sacred Beetle and Others 



mains in my immediate proximity only the 

 Broad-necked Scarab, the smallest of the 

 three. He Is very rare around Serlgnan, 

 though widely distributed in other parts of 

 the Vaucluse. This scarcity deprives me of 

 opportunities for observing the insect in the 

 open fields; and my only resource is to bring 

 up a few chance specimens in captivity. 



Behind the wire-gauze of his prison, the 

 Broad-necked Scarab does not display the 

 Sacred Beetle's athletic prowess nor his bold 

 and hasty temper. In his case, we see no 

 scuffles between robber and robbed, no pills 

 manufactured purely for art's sake, rolled 

 for a little while with wild enthusiasm and 

 then consigned to the rubbish-heap without 

 being employed at all. The same blood 

 does not flow in the veins of the two pill- 

 rollers. 



Of a quieter disposition and less waste- 

 ful of his gleanings, the Beetle with the 

 broad corselet attacks discreetly the heap of 

 manna provided by the Sheep; he picks from 

 the best part some armfuls of material 

 which he makes into a ball; he attends to 

 his business without troubling the others or 

 being troubled by them. For the rest, his 

 methods are the same as those of the Sacred 

 Beetle. The sphere, which is always an 



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