The Sisyphus: the Instinct of Paternity 



It is strange that the Hymenopteron, the 

 most gifted of the industrial insects, should 

 know nothing of paternal labour. The 

 male, in whom one would think that the needs 

 of the young ought to develop the highest 

 aptitudes, remains as dull-witted as a Butter- 

 fly, whose family is established at so small a 

 cost. The bestowal of instinct baffles our 

 most reasonable conjectures. 



It baffles them so thoroughly that we are 

 extremely surprised when we find in the 

 muck-raker the noble prerogative denied 

 to the honey-gatherer. Various Dung- 

 beetles are accustomed to help in the burden 

 of housekeeping and know the value of 

 working in double harness. Remember the 

 Geotrupes couple, preparing their larva's 

 portion together; think of the father lending 

 his mate the assistance of his powerful press 

 in the manufacture of the tight-packed 

 sausages, a splendid example of domestic 

 habits and one extremely surprising amid the 

 general egoism. 



To this example, hitherto unique, my con- 

 stant studies of the subject enable me to-day 

 to add three others, which are equally 

 interesting; and all three are likewise 

 furnished by the Dung-beetle guild. I will 

 describe them, but briefly, for in many 



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