The Bison Onitis 



which is a much more important character- 

 istic than a joint more or less in the antennae. 

 The Bison, hke many others, warns us to be 

 careful where we are going. Though akin 

 to the Copris in structure, he is much nearer 

 the Geotrupes in his industry. Like them, 

 he packs sausages in a c>'lindrical mould; 

 like them again, he has the paternal instinct. 



I inspect my one couple in the middle of 

 June. Under a plentiful pile provided by 

 the Sheep is a perpendicular shaft a finger's- 

 breadth in diameter, open freely throughout 

 its length and running some nine inches 

 down. The bottom of this well branches 

 out into five different galleries, each occupied 

 by a roly-poly pudding similar to the Geo- 

 trupes', but less bulky and not so long. The 

 mass of fodder has a warty surface, is 

 rounded off clumsily and has a hatching- 

 chamber scooped out of it at the lower end. 

 This chamber is a little round cell, coated 

 with a semifluid wash. The egg is oval, 

 white and comparatively large, as is the rule 

 among Dung-beetles. In short, the Bison's 

 rustic work is a very close reproduction of 

 the Geotrupes'. 



I am disappointed: I expected better 

 things. The insect's elegance seemed to 

 promise something more artistic, a finer 



371 



