COLEOPTERA. 557 



of the abdomen. They are generally black, but some are 

 colored with rich metallic hues. They vary greatly in size. 



The name tumble-bug refers to the habit which many 

 species exhibit of forming round balls of dung, which they 

 roll long distances. They work in pairs, a male and a female 

 working together; and often the ball is several times as 

 large as their combined size. They finally bury the ball in 

 the ground, and the female deposits an egg in one side of 

 it ; this partially decomposed matter serves as food for the 

 larva when it hatches. It should be noted that this is one 

 of the instances, rare among insects, where the male realizes 

 that he has some responsibility as a father, and assists the 

 female in providing for the young. 



This strange habit of rolling these balls has occasioned 

 much speculation as to its object, and has been the source 

 of many superstitions, especially in ancient times. The 

 only reasonable theory that we have met is that as many 

 predaceous insects frequent the masses of dung from which 

 the balls are obtained, in order to prey upon the larvae which 

 live there, the more intelligent tumble-bugs remove the food 

 for their larvae to a safe distance. 



The most noted member of this group of genera is the 

 Sacred Beetle of the Egyptians, Atenchus sacer (A-teu'chus 

 sa'cer). This insect was held in high veneration by this 

 ancient people. It was placed by them in the tombs with 

 their dead ; its picture was painted on sarcophagi, and its 

 image was carved in stone and precious gems. These sculp- 

 tured beetles can be found in almost any collection of 

 Egyptian antiquities. 



From the habits and structure of this Scarabaeid the 

 Egyptians evolved a remarkable symbolism. The ball, 

 which the beetles were supposed to roll from sunrise to 

 sunset, represented the earth ; the beetle itself personified 

 the sun, because of the sharp projections on its head, which 

 extend out like rays of light ; while the thirty segments of 

 its six tarsi represented the days of the month. All indi- 



