THE SPOTTED SO ARAB /EPS. 379 
hind legs directing the ball, while the four other legs are employed in locomotion. During 
this operation the beetle seems to be standing on its head, the hind legs being necessarily 
much elevated in order to guide the ball, which by dint of much rolling becomes nearly 
spherical. A tolerably deep hole is then excavated in a suitable spot, the ball rolled into it, 
and the earth filled in. 
Many beetles perform this useful operation ; and even in several European countries where 
the beauty of the climate is only equalled by the uncleanliness of the inhabitants, these beetles 
are of inestimable service, and are, perhaps, the only means whereby the towns and villages are 
rendered endurable, at all events to unaccustomed eyes and nostrils. Fortunately these insects 
fly by day as well as by night, and being gifted with extraordinary powers of scent, are sure 
to be on the spot as soon as their labors are required. 
There are few parts of the globe where beetles possessing similar habits are not to be 
found, and although they do not display equal skill in the construction of egg-containing 
SPOTTED SCARABiEUS. — Ateuchus variolosus. (In natural size, surrounded by Scarabees in diminished form.) 
balls, they are equally efficacious in the results. It may be here mentioned, that the watch- 
man beetle ( Geotrupes ster cor arms) is the u shard-borne ” beetle mentioned by the poets, the 
title being due to the shelly elytra which are held aloft during its flight. They are marvel- 
lously tenacious of life ; and, as an example of this property, I may mention that I once 
caught a Greotrupes in the air which had been mulcted of one elytron, lost several of its limbs, 
and the whole of its abdomen, the contents having been evidently scooped out by some bird. 
Yet it was quite strong on the wing, and seemed little the worse for its injuries. This beetle 
is represented in the full-page illustration on page 376 . 
Several species of this kind of beetle, called Dung-beetles, or Tumble-bug, are found in 
the northern United States. The Bronze Dung-beetle ( Copris carnifex) is the most attractive 
of these scavengers. It is a more southern species than the Common Dung-beetle, or Pellet 
Beetle (Ateuchus volvens), which, however, is found in ah the States. The latter is closely 
related to the Sacred Scarabseus, which, by some authorities, is of the same genus as the 
Spotted ScababyEus ( Ateuchus variolosus). The ancient Egyptians, being so impressed by 
what they regarded as a benefit conferred by these scavengers, they looked up and treated 
their beetle as sacred, too, representing them, as we see above, in sculpture of their tombs, 
houses, temples, etc. The latter species is found in the south of France. 
