PILL-CHAFER. 
261 
a proper mixture of earth, till it is formed into the 
pellets we have just mentioned, and each ball has 
received its egg. Mr. Catesby assures us, this em- 
ployment so completely occupies their attention, 
that they may be handled, or otherwise interrupted, 
without being deterred ; for the moment they are 
disengaged they continue their work without any 
apprehension of danger. 
These insects are seen from April to Septem- 
ber . after this period they disappear, and their 
eggs, which are conveyed to the depth of two or 
three feet beneath the surface of the earth, remain 
there till the following spring, when they burst 
their shells, and fill up their time in the same nasty 
manner as their parents did before them. 
The pains which these creatures take to bury their 
pellets, and the way in which they proceed to effect 
their purpose, is thus described by Mr. Catesby, 
who observed the whole process : 
“ I have attentively admired their industry, and 
mutual assisting of each other in rolling these glo- 
bular balls from the place where they made them 
to that of their interment, which is usually the 
distance of some yards, more or less. This they 
perform breech foremost, by raising their hind 
parts, and forcing along the ball with their hind 
feet. Two or three of them are sometimes engaged 
in trundling one ball, which, from meeting with 
impediments, on account of the unevenness of the 
ground, is sometimes deserted by them. It is, 
however, attempted by others with success, unless 
