This is an excellent occasion to find the reply to a primary question: do the Onthophagus father and mother work in conjunction when looking after the brood; have they a permanent household, similar to that which we have seen in the Geotrupes, the Sisyphus and the Minotaur; [58] or is the mating followed by a sudden and definite rupture? The Bull Onthophagus shall tell us. I delicately transfer two insects in the act of coupling and establish them in another, separate jar, provided with victuals and fresh sand. The moving is performed safely; the entwined pair remain united. A quarter of an hour afterwards, they separate; the great job is finished. The food is close at hand. They refresh themselves for a moment; and then each, without bothering in the least about the other, digs his burrow and buries himself in solitude. A week or so passes. The male reappears on the surface; he is restless, he makes desperate efforts to climb out; the relations are done, quite done; he wants to get away. By and by, the female comes up in her turn; she tries the nearest cake, picks the best of it and takes it underground. She is building her nest. As to her companion, he does not even notice what is happening: these things do not concern him. The other captives, of no matter what species, when consulted in the same manner, give the same reply. The Onthophagus tribe knows nothing of household ties. In what respect are those who know them and who observe them so faithfully any the better off? I do not quite see; or, to be more candid, I do not see at all. If, in the case of the Geotrupes, I see in the bulky pudding some slight excuse for the collaboration of the father, who is a valuable assistant in the fabrication of this kind of preserve, and if, in that of the Minotaur, the immensely deep well might suggest to me the need for the trident-wearing helper, who shoots out the rubbish while the mother goes on digging, I should still be without an explanation when I came to the Sisyphus, who is very economical both in provisions and in the labour of excavation and requires no help with either. I will not deny that, in this last case, the male is of some use, watching over the pill, lending occasional help and encouraging the female with his presence; but, after all, the part which he plays as a collaborator is a very secondary one, and the mother, one would say, could do without any assistance, as is the rule among the Scarabæi. Here, besides, we have the Bull Onthophagus, who is even smaller than the Sisyphus; and this dwarf, unacquainted with a partnership that would increase her powers twofold, fulfils a task which is almost equivalent to that of the Beetles who roll their pills in double harness. Then how are talents and industries distributed? If we go on accumulating fact upon fact, observation upon observation, shall we ever come to know? I venture to doubt it. I have friends who sometimes say to me: