lOO 



Marvels of the Universe 



in the ground for a period of twenty-eight days. As there were supposed to be no females of this 

 species, it was chosen as the type of Phtah, the creative power, and of Regeneration or Reproduc- 

 tion, because it was the first animal observed after the subsidence of the waters of the Nile. It was 

 also supposed to represent Fecundity, and these beetles are even yet eaten by the women of the 

 countr}' to render them prolific. 



Now. however, let us turn to safer ground, and consider the beetle from the more substantial 

 basis of known facts. 



The Scarab, which is found in Provence in France, in the south of Europe, in Egypt, Barbary. 

 etc., is a large beetle, black in colour, with long legs and awkward action. It possesses ample wings, 

 concealed beneath the wing-cases when on the ground, and can fly readilj'. The head is armed 



;■/(..(,) hu] 



IHH SC ARAL ;. ULLLAK. 

 The underground crypt to whirh he has succeeded in gelling his treasure. Here he can eat in peace after his prodigious 



efforts 



or store up the food to be eaten by the Scarab grubs. 



with teeth, with which it digs, and the back legs are long and bent round, which enables them to 

 grasp the ball of dung. Most beetles, and, indeed, all insects, possess six feet, usually composed of 

 five joints each ; but in this species the front pair of legs do not possess any feet at all. In other 

 of the dung- feeders which do possess front feet, these feet are often to be found broken or injured 

 bv continual digging in hard ground, and can be of little, if any. use to the beetles. Darwin suggests 

 that the want of front feet in this species is due to the effects of long-continued disuse. The male 

 beetle is said to stridulate (i.e.. to make a noise by rubbing hard parts of its body together in the 

 same way that grasshoppers, crickets, and also some other beetles call to each other, or cry out 

 when alarmed), to encourage the female when working, and to express distress if she is taken away 

 from him. 



The Scarab acts as a scavenger by breaking up and burying the droppings of cattle and other 

 animals : it will thus be seen to plaj' a ver\' important part in the economy of nature. They collect 

 balls of dung, which they roll and eventually bury in the ground. It was supposed that these balls 

 coHtained the eggs of the beetle, and it is so stated in most of the works on natural history which 



