MORE BEETLES BY J. HENRI FABRE TRANSLATED BY Alexander Teixeira de Mattos FELLOW OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1922 TRANSLATOR’S NOTE This, if we count The Life of the Weevil as the third, is the fourth and last volume on Beetles in the Collected English Edition of Fabre’s entomological works. The first was entitled The Sacred Beetle and Others; the second The Glow-worm and Other Beetles. Of the fourteen chapters, part of the four devoted to the Minotaur appeared, in an abbreviated form, in The Life and Love of the Insect, prepared by myself for Messrs. Adam and Charles Black and published in America by the Macmillan Co. Similarly, The Pine Cockchafer and the two chapters on the Gold Beetles occur in Mr. Fisher Unwin’s Social Life in the Insect World (published in America by the Century Co.), translated by Mr. Bernard Miall, whom I take this opportunity of thanking for his assistance in the translation of the present volume. These seven chapters are included in the Collected Edition by arrangement with the publishers named. Alexander Teixeira de Mattos. Chelsea, 29 September, 1921. CONTENTS PAGE TRANSLATOR’S NOTE v CHAPTER I THE CETONIÆ 1 II SAPRINI, DERMESTES AND OTHERS 34 III THE BEADED TROX 55 IV MINOTAURUS TYPHŒUS: THE BURROW 72 V MINOTAURUS TYPHŒUS: FIRST ATTEMPTS AT OBSERVATION 98 VI MINOTAURUS TYPHŒUS: FURTHER OBSERVATIONS 125 VII MINOTAURUS TYPHŒUS: MORALITY 152 VIII THE ERGATES; THE COSSUS 172 IX THE PINE COCKCHAFER 194 X THE VEGETARIAN INSECTS 215 XI THE DWARFS 238 XII SOME ANOMALIES 255 XIII THE GOLD BEETLES: THEIR FOOD 278 XIV THE GOLD BEETLES: THEIR NUPTIAL HABITS 299 MORE BEETLES CHAPTER I THE CETONIÆ