The Spanish Copris: the Mother 



side, all ten violated by my penknife and all 

 restored to good condition by the foster- 

 mother. 



There are some interesting sidelights to 

 this curious experiment, which I could have 

 continued if the capacity of the jar had per- 

 mitted. The Copris' zeal, which was not 

 lessened after the restoring of so many ruins, 

 and her diligence, which was the same at the 

 end as in the beginning, tell me that I had 

 not exhausted the maternal solicitude. Let 

 us leave it at that; it is amply sufficient. 



Observe first the arrangement of the pills. 

 Three are enough to occupy the floor-space 

 of the enclosure. The others are there- 

 fore gradually superposed in layers, making 

 in the end a four-story structure. The 

 whole forms an irregular pile, an absolute 

 labyrinth with very narrow, winding lanes, 

 through which the insect glides with some 

 difficulty. When her household is in order, 

 the mother stays below, under the pile, touch- 

 ing the sand. It is at this moment that a new 

 broken cell is introduced, right at the top of 

 the pile, on the third or fourth floor. Let 

 us put back the screen, wait a few minutes 

 and then go back to the jar. 



The mother is there, hoisted on the torn 

 pill and doing her utmost to close it. How 



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