The Spanish Copris: the Mother 



The larval state covers a period of four to 

 six weeks. 



At the end of July, the nymph appears, 

 first amber-yellow all over, next currant-red 

 on the head, horn, corselet, breast and legs, 

 while the wing-cases have the pale hue of 

 gum arable. A month later, by the end of 

 August, the perfect insect releases itself from 

 its mummy wrappers. Its costume, now 

 wrought upon by delicate chemical changes, 

 is quite as strange as that of the new-born 

 Sacred Beetle. Head, corselet, breast and 

 legs are chestnut-red. The horn, the epis- 

 toma and the denticulations of the fore-legs 

 are shaded with brown. The wing-cases are 

 a rather yellowish white. The abdomen is 

 white, excepting only the anal segment, which 

 is an even brighter red than the thorax. I 

 perceive this early colouring of the anal 

 segment, while the rest of the abdomen is 

 still quite pale, in the Sacred Beetles, the 

 Gymnopleuri, the Onthophagi, the Geo- 

 trupes, the Cetoniae ^ and many others. 

 Whence this precocity? One more note of 

 interrogation which will long stand awaiting 

 a reply. 



A fortnight passes. The costume be- 



1 Rose-chafers. — Translator's Note. 

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