The Sacred Beetle and Others 



glues a whitish egg, the size of a grain of 

 wheat." 



What can this shell be, usually made of 

 earth and open at one side so that the grub 

 may reach the column of provisions over- 

 head ? I am at an utter loss to know. Shell, 

 especially made of earth, there is none, nor 

 any opening. I see and see again, as often 

 as I wish, a round cell, closed everywhere 

 and built at the lower end of the food- 

 cylinder, but nothing else, nothing that even 

 vaguely resembles the structure described. 



Which of the two is responsible for the 

 imaginary construction? Can the German 

 entomologist have sinned through superficial 

 observation? Or did the Lyons entomolo- 

 gist misinterpret the older author? I lack 

 the necessary documents to bring the mistake 

 home to the right person. Is it not pathetic 

 to see these masters, who are so punctilious 

 about a joint of the palpi, so cantankerous 

 about the first claim to some barbaric appel- 

 lation, almost indifferent when they come to 

 treat of habits and industry, which are the 

 supreme expression of an insect's life? No- 

 menclators' entomology is making enormous 

 strides: it overwhelms us, swamps us. The 

 other, biologists' entomology, the only inte- 



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