

460 _ THE INSECT WORLD. 
for a long while that the Egyptians had painted the black species 
of a more splendid colour in order to pay it homage. But in 
1819, M. Caillaud actually found at Meroe, on the banks of the 
White Nile, the Atewchus Egyptiorum, which resembles the 
Ateuchus sacer much in colour, but has a golden tint. Since then 
it has also been brought from Sennaar. The two species were 
both probably sacred. Hor-Apollon, the learned commentator 
on Egyptian hieroglyphics, thinks that this people, in adopting 
the scarabzeus as a religious symbol, wished to represent at once : 
an unique birth—a father—the world—a man. The unique birth 
means that the scarabeeus has no mother. A male wishing to 
procreate, said the Egyptians, takes the dung of an ox, works 

Fig. 441.—Scarabzeus enema, or Enema infundibulum. 
it up into a ball, and gives it the shape of the world, rolls it with 
its hind legs from east to west, and places it in the ground, where 
it remains twenty-eight days. The twenty-ninth day it throws 
its ball, now open, into the water, and there comes forth a male 
scarabeus. This explanation shows also why the scarabeeus was 
employed to represent at the same time a father, a man, and the 
world. There were, however, according to the same author, three 
sorts of Scarabei: one was in the shape of a cat, and threw out 
brightly shining rays (probably the Golden Scarabzus, Ateuchus | 
Eqyptiorum) ; the two others had horns ; their description seems 
to refer to a Copris and a Geotrupes. | 
As other remarkable species of Scarabei we represent the 
‘Scarabeus enema (Fig. 441), with strong horns, the Scarabeus | 


