The Sacred Beetle and Others 



of the Copris or the Sacred Beetle, notwith- 

 standing the difference of the seasons. 

 Eleven or twelve inches, roughly speaking, 

 is the most that I find in the fields, where 

 nothing occurs to restrict the depth. My 

 cages, with their limited thickness of soil, are 

 less trustworthy in this respect, since the insect 

 has no option but to use the layer of earth at 

 its disposal. Many a time, however, I per- 

 ceive that this layer Is not fully traversed 

 down to the floor of the box, thus furnishing 

 a fresh proof of the slight depth needed. 



In the open fields as in the confinement of 

 my cages, the burrow is always dug under the 

 heap of dung that is being exploited. No 

 outward sign betrays its presence, concealed 

 as it is beneath the voluminous droppings of 

 the Mule. It is a cylindrical passage, the 

 same width as the neck of a claret-bottle, 

 straight and perpendicular in a homogeneous 

 soil, bent and winding irregularly in rough 

 ground where a root or stone may bar the 

 way and necessitate an abrupt change of di- 

 rection. In my cages, where the layer of 

 earth Is insufl^clent the pit, at first vertical, 

 bends at right angles on touching the wooden 

 floor and is continued horizontally. Inhere 

 is no precise rule therefore in the boring. 

 The accidents of the soil determine the shape. 



294 



