The Geotrupes: Nest-building 



thick roof that surmounts the house. Re- 

 member that the Geotrupes generally settle 

 under the copious provender which the Horse 

 and the Mule bestow upon them. Under 

 such a shelter, is it really necessary to bolt 

 one's door? Besides, the rough weather 

 looks after the closing for them. The roof 

 falls in, the earth slips and the yawning pit 

 soon fills up without the assistance of those 

 who dug it. 



Just now my pen ventured to write the 

 names of Philemon and Baucis. As a matter 

 of fact, the Geotrupes couple do in certain 

 respects recall the peaceful mythological 

 household. What is the male, in the insect 

 world? Once the wedding has been cele- 

 brated, he is an incompetent, an idler, a good- 

 for-nothing, a drug in the market whom 

 others shun and sometimes even get rid of by 

 atrocious means. The Praying Mantis ^ 

 tells us tragic enough things in this connect- 

 ion. 



Now here, by a very curious exception, the 

 sluggard becomes a toiler; the lover of the 

 moment a faithful husband; the careless pa- 

 rent a serious paterfamilias. The brief 

 meeting changes into a lasting partnership. 



1 Cf. The Life of the Grasshopper: chaps, vi. to ix. — 

 Translator's Note. 



311 



