The Gymnopleuri 



made is in existence at the bottom of the pot. 



I now inten^ene and turn the pot upside 

 down. Everything is topsy-turvy; the en- 

 trance gallery and the terminal hall dis- 

 appear. I extract the mother and the pellet 

 from the ruins. Once more the pot is filled 

 with earth; and the same test begins all over 

 again. A few hours are enough to restore 

 the courage shaken by all this upheaval. 

 For the second time, the mother buries her- 

 self with the heap of provisions destined for 

 the grub. For the second time also, when 

 the establishment is finished, the overturning 

 of the pot unsettles everything. The experi- 

 ment is renewed. Persisting in its maternal 

 solicitude, if necessary until its strength gives 

 way, the insect again buries itself together 

 with its sphere. 



Four times over, in two days, I have thus 

 seen the mother Beetle bear up under the 

 devastation which I hav^e wrought and start 

 afresh, with touching patience, on the ruined 

 dwelling. I did not think fit to pursue the 

 test. You feel some scruples in submit- 

 ting maternal affection to such tribulations 

 as these. However, it seems probable that, 

 sooner or later, the exhausted and bev/ildered 

 insect would have refused to go on digging. 



My experiments of this kind are numer- 



i8i 



